A joint committee of peers and MPs was proposed last night as a way of determining whether the abortion law should change in the wake of marked scientific advances in the past 20 years.

It was suggested that two of parliament’s most influential groupings - the Lords and Commons science and technology committees - should come together in a unique investigation on whether the 24-week limit for abortions should be lowered.

Forum Response: British Pregnancy Advisory Service

Ann Furedi bpas chief executive told ePolitix.com: "The UK's largest abortion provider bpas which carries out over 48,000 abortions a year, argues, that it would be a disaster for a large number of women if the time limit were reduced.

"Very few women ask for a termination late on, and if they do it is because something has changed in their lives.  It might be that she’s discovered her boyfriend is having an affair, or a man she thought would support her lets her down.

"She might have lost her job or been ambivalent about the pregnancy from the start but taken a long time to make up her mind, she might be close to the menopause and her periods might have become so erratic that she didn't know that she was pregnant.

"It’s not an easy option. It involves a medical induction and a woman giving birth to a dead baby. This is the hardest of hard decisions.

"At bpas we firmly believe that there is a need for abortions to be provided up to 24 weeks and that it would be inappropriate to lower the limit.

"It is true that there is public distaste for late abortion while early abortion is accepted. Late abortion is a backstop - society might not like it but it is better than women being forced to have babies they don't want."