In the UK

Nov 28, 2005 16:18 GMT  ·  By

A new study carried out by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) which says that 50 babies survive botched terminations in Britain every year is likely to reignite the abortion debate, Daily Mail noted.

Unlike France and Germany, where the legal limit for such terminations is 10 to 12 weeks, the UK allows females to undergo abortions within a 24 week gestation period.

According to the guidelines by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, babies aborted after more than 21 weeks and six days of gestation should have their hearts stopped by an injection of potassium chloride before being delivered.

However, in practice, most doctors are reluctant to go through the norms, and very few are able to perform the delicate procedure, resulting in a high number of babies who survive the abortions.

Now, Britain's leading obstetricians are accusing the doctors who carried out botched abortions of 'sub-standard' medicine and they are demanding the reduction of the termination time limit.