Abstract

KIE: A 1990 negligence case involving the birth of a child with spina bifida marked the first time an English court was called upon to interpret a phrase from the 1967 Abortion Act, "capable of being born alive," in the context of a late abortion. The plaintiffs contended that if they had been given the opportunity to have an abnormal ultrasound scan investigated, the woman would have aborted the pregnancy. The defendants prevailed with their argument that at the time of the scan, which was performed by an inexperienced radiographer, the pregnancy was too advanced for legal termination. Late abortion of a very handicapped fetus is unlawful if independent survival is possible for any length of time after birth. Brahams recommends a common sense legal approach to late abortions where the fetus is severely handicapped, as with the case of anencephaly.