British Lawsuit Targets Late-Term Abortion for Cleft Palate

British Lawsuit Targets Late-Term Abortion for Cleft Palate

by Paul Nowak
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
November 19, 2003

Hereford, England (LifeNews.com) -- A British priest has filed a lawsuit against the local police for not prosecuting an abortion practitioner for conducting a late-term abortion solely because the unborn child had a cleft palate.

Under British law, an abortion cannot be preformed after the 24th week unless there is risk of a serious handicap. As cleft palate is routinely corrected by surgery and Rev. Joanna Jepson argues that the police should have enforced the law and prosecuted the abortion practitioner.

“I want to see a clarification of the law so that abortions do not take place for trivial reasons and so that discrimination against the disabled does not become widely accepted,” said Jepson.

"While there is no definition of serious handicap, the common understanding of the man in the street is that cleft palate is a fairly common condition and repaired routinely,” said Jepson’s attorney, Paul Conrathe. "We are asking for a ruling that cleft palate is not a serious handicap and that the police have misdirected themselves in law."

Pro-life groups applaud the effort.

“LIFE congratulates Rev Joanna Jepson, a Hereford vicar, for challenging the lawfulness of killing a six-month-old preborn baby who had a cleft lip and palate,” the British pro-life group said in a release. “It is impossible to believe that a cleft palate constitutes a ’serious handicap’ as the Abortion Act understood that term. The Act is being openly flouted by abortion doctors, and it's good that someone like that vicar has had the courage to say so.”

A High Court judge rejected the original application for judicial review on Oct 29, but Conrathe will again file the lawsuit on Dec.1, when oral arguments will be heard.

Meanwhile, Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust said it was satisfied its hospital staff where the abortion took place followed correct procedures. A spokesman for the chief constable, in papers sent to the court, said detectives acted on the advice of Heather Mellows, the vice-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

An expert in feto-maternal medicine, as well as experts from the Birmingham Cleft Lip Team, had been involved, according to rpeorts from the British press.

"When the law was passed it was deliberately left vague for the decision to be made between the woman and her doctors. We feel that this is appropriate," said Anne Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, that allows abortions.

"I don't see how a cleft palate can be classed as a serious handicap," Jepson, a Cambridge graduate who had corrective surgery as a teenager for a congenital jaw defect, concluded.

"It shows how enslaved we are to the notion that the value of our human life lies in physical perfection. This case raises the increasingly worrying concern of eugenics in our society."


Enter your email address to receive news from LifeNews.com via email. Do you prefer to receive news daily or weekly? Daily Weekly Do you favor or oppose abortion? Favor Oppose Click here to make a PayPal donation to LifeNews.com!	British Lawsuit Targets Late-Term Abortion for Cleft Palate by Paul Nowak LifeNews.com Staff Writer November 19, 2003 Hereford, England (LifeNews.com) -- A British priest has filed a lawsuit against the local police for not prosecuting an abortion practitioner for conducting a late-term abortion solely because the unborn child had a cleft palate. Under British law, an abortion cannot be preformed after the 24th week unless there is risk of a serious handicap. As cleft palate is routinely corrected by surgery and Rev. Joanna Jepson argues that the police should have enforced the law and prosecuted the abortion practitioner. “I want to see a clarification of the law so that abortions do not take place for trivial reasons and so that discrimination against the disabled does not become widely accepted,” said Jepson. "While there is no definition of serious handicap, the common understanding of the man in the street is that cleft palate is a fairly common condition and repaired routinely,” said Jepson’s attorney, Paul Conrathe. "We are asking for a ruling that cleft palate is not a serious handicap and that the police have misdirected themselves in law." Pro-life groups applaud the effort. “LIFE congratulates Rev Joanna Jepson, a Hereford vicar, for challenging the lawfulness of killing a six-month-old preborn baby who had a cleft lip and palate,” the British pro-life group said in a release. “It is impossible to believe that a cleft palate constitutes a ’serious handicap’ as the Abortion Act understood that term. The Act is being openly flouted by abortion doctors, and it's good that someone like that vicar has had the courage to say so.” A High Court judge rejected the original application for judicial review on Oct 29, but Conrathe will again file the lawsuit on Dec.1, when oral arguments will be heard. Meanwhile, Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust said it was satisfied its hospital staff where the abortion took place followed correct procedures. A spokesman for the chief constable, in papers sent to the court, said detectives acted on the advice of Heather Mellows, the vice-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. An expert in feto-maternal medicine, as well as experts from the Birmingham Cleft Lip Team, had been involved, according to rpeorts from the British press. "When the law was passed it was deliberately left vague for the decision to be made between the woman and her doctors. We feel that this is appropriate," said Anne Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, that allows abortions. "I don't see how a cleft palate can be classed as a serious handicap," Jepson, a Cambridge graduate who had corrective surgery as a teenager for a congenital jaw defect, concluded. "It shows how enslaved we are to the notion that the value of our human life lies in physical perfection. This case raises the increasingly worrying concern of eugenics in our society."