The Case
The abortion of the 28-week-old fetus was carried out in December 2001 in Herefordshire by doctors who cannot be named for legal reasons. Under the terms of the 1967 UK Abortion Act, abortions after 24 weeks (such as this one) should only be carried out if "there is a substantial risk that if the child was born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped".
Jepson argued that a cleft palate or lip did not meet this definition - citing the fact that she herself had more serious facial deformities, and that many people born with cleft palates have had perfectly satisfactory corrective operations. As a consequence, she considered this a case of 'unlawful killing', and mounted a legal challenge. Between 1995 and late 2003, 26 abortions on fetuses with cleft palates took place in the United Kingdom, two of which are believed to have taken place after 24 weeks.
Additionally, there is no legal definition of "seriously handicapped" - it is left to the discretion of parents and medical personnel. Rev. Jepson believes that applying the above reasoning to her own situation, "the law is saying there are good reasons why I should not be alive".
The result of the legal challenge was that Jepson's complaint was not upheld, the Crown Prosecution Service stating that the doctors involved acted in good faith and would not face criminal charges.
A spokesperson for the pro-choice group Abortion Rights stated that they welcomed the decision. Cleft palate can lead to severe disability and the doctors are believed to have acted on those grounds. A ProLife Alliance spokesperson expressed concern at the verdict, commenting on the "eugenic mentality in medicine in the UK".
Jepson said that "People only see the negative side of disability". She also expressed her difficulty dealing with the fact that pregnant mothers in the UK are screened for Down's Syndrome - a condition which Jepson's brother has. Diagnosis of Down's Syndrome in the fetus is one of the most common reason given for abortion of fetuses in the UK, and it is feared that screening for this will lead to more abortions.
Jepson expressed a desire to raise the profile of the issues associated with the case, and to see a tightening of the law so that "abortions do not take place for trivial reasons and women are not traumatised".
Read more about this topic: Joanna Jepson
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