Petition · past parliament
Cancel all NHS funding for abortion during coronovirus outbreak
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
The British Government anticipate that 44,000 women will "require" an early abortion (prior to 9 weeks) in the next 3 months. During this time of extreme pressure on the health care system and the economic budget, this is obscene and unneccessary when patients are having cancer operations cancelled.
We are aware of personal stories of young people having cancer operations cancelled and we are being told we cannot monitor our patients with severe conditions such as Parkinson's in clinics. The government states that women need access to this "essential" procedure.
Abortion is ethically and morally wrong at any time but to sacrifice resources needed for tackling a pandemic to perform abortions is abhorrent. Only abortions essential for saving the life of the woman should be carried out.
Abortion is ethically and morally wrong at any time but to sacrifice resources needed for tackling a pandemic to perform abortions is abhorrent. Only abortions essential for saving the life of the woman should be carried out.
Why it was rejected
It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.
Decisions about the provision of medical treatment during the current outbreak is a matter for NHS England and individual NHS trusts, and not the Government or Parliament.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 25 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 11 May 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
11 May 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.