Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Main Page: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Hunt of Kings Heath's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(10 years, 8 months ago)
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, this is an important debate. I share the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Knight, about the Assisted Dying Bill, but I do not accept the link she has made between that Bill and the 1967 Abortion Act. I speak as someone who has always supported that Act, but I find termination on the grounds of gender to be absolutely abhorrent, and I hope the noble Earl can clear up the issue of the interpretation of the 1967 Act. Can he say whether he agrees with the interpretation given by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern? As I understand it, the essence of what he said is that the 1967 Act permits abortions only under the specific circumstances as set out in that Act. Therefore, it does not allow for an abortion to be performed on the basis of not wanting a child of a specific gender. It would be very helpful if the noble Earl could really clarify that point.
I also want to ask about the decision of the independent prosecutors in the case mentioned by the noble Baroness. I well understand that the Attorney-General does not want to second-guess the decisions of the independent prosecutors and I have read the subsequent explanation of the Director of Public Prosecutions, but would like the noble Earl to clarify whether he thinks, in the light of that, that any further clarification is required. We have heard about the pre-signing of HSA1 forms. Can the noble Earl confirm that, following the investigation by the Care Quality Commission, those organisations that were found to be pre-signing those forms were ordered to stop this practice? Is he confident that providers are now complying with the Abortion Act?
Finally, does he agree that we need to challenge discriminatory attitudes towards women and girls and should not be frightened of that challenge? Will the Minister say what efforts the Government will make on education in this area and specifically among some communities in this country?