Marie Stopes approves abortions after 22-second consultations, new investigation claims

Marie Stopes International, the second-largest abortion provider in Britain, has been accused of approving abortions based on phone conversations that last as little as 22 seconds.

Last year, the health watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised concerns that doctors at Marie Stopes were approving abortions based solely on a one-line summary of what a woman tells a call-centre worker with no medical training.

A recent investigation by the Daily Mail has indicated that the phone conversations can be as short as 22 seconds.

The Daily Mail also found out that if the woman who seeks an abortion fails to provide a reason which reflects with those set out in the abortion act, she is encouraged to come up with a different reason.

Following a telephone consultation, an undercover reporter found out that the official note of her reason for obtaining an abortion was completely different from what she said on the phone.

Doctors are not required to meet a woman before approving the termination of pregnancy, but the Department of Health guidance stated that it is "good practice."

When a reporter contacted Marie Stopes for an abortion, she was told that she does not need to meet the doctor who would approve the procedure.

"We've already done the legal side of things. It's done before [you get to the clinic]," the call center worker told the reporter. When asked for a reason for the abortion, the reporter said, "I just don't want the baby."

Under the Abortion Act, the reason given by the reporter was not considered sufficient grounds for the procedure. When the reporter arrived at the clinic her justification had been recorded in her medical notes as "client is unable emotionally to continue with pregnancy," which aligns with the legal conditions.

Jade Stevens, a woman who had an abortion at a Marie Stopes clinic, said that the facility was "like a conveyor belt."

"Some [women] were really upset, they were crying but there was no support for them," she said. "It was one in, and literally five minutes later, another one in. They were doing it so quickly," she went on to say.

Dr. John Parsons, a former abortionist at one of the organization's clinics, said that he felt uncomfortable because "the aim was always to save money."

"To my great discomfort, I felt it was an organisation that didn't have its patients at the centre of the service they were offering," he wrote.

Two pro-life groups, Life and the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), have launched a joint petition calling for the permanent suspension of Marie Stopes International.

SPUC chief executive John Smeaton said that it is "beyond comprehension" that the organization's clinics are allowed to remain open despite the 2,600 failures discovered by health inspectors.