A BRITISH woman who wanted one of her 16 week old twin foetuses to be aborted because of financial reasons had the operation over a month ago, it was revealed last night.
News of the termination was leaked to the media just minutes after The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) obtained a High Court injunction preventing the termination, and were celebrating in obtaining a "last minute" ban on an expected abortion.
Although a spokeswoman at Queen Charlotte Hospital refused to confirm that one of the woman's foetuses had been aborted last month because of confidentiality rules, Prof Robert Winston, a fertility expert, admitted he had been told that the termination had taken place well before this week's publicity.
My understanding is that this termination of pregnancy took place some time ago. It was only done after a series of consultations with a leading number of senior consultants," he added.
SPUC described the announcement as "very sad" and predicted that the woman and her surviving twin would suffer "problems for the rest of their lives".
"When hospitals and doctors start talking about confidentiality, it is a sure sign that there is a cover up," added a SPUC director, Mrs Phyllis Bowman.
The 28 year old single mother had requested the abortion because she "could not cope" with twins due to her "straitened circumstances". Despite publicly admitting his reservations, the obstetrician, Prof Phillip Bennett, agreed to terminate one of the foetuses as he felt it was better than both twins being aborted.
The procedure involves inserting a needle containing sodium chloride of the foetus then shrivels inside the womb and is carried to full term with its live twin.
SPUC was granted the injunction until 10 a.m. today after arguing that Prof Bennett must inform the woman that she had been offered more than £60,000 sterling by donors from across the world to change her mind.
Prof Bennett's insistence that he could not tell the woman, about the offers of financial help, and support because it would breach confidentiality rules has been vigorously condemned by several Tory MPs.
Mrs Ann Winterton, a Tory MP and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Pro Life group, said she has written to the Health Secretary urging him to immediately investigate the case and "take any necessary action" against Queen Charlotte's Hospital. "I have been incensed to learn that the hospital has announced it will not be informing the mother of the fact that she has been offered financial and other support to relieve her position.
"They claim that the decision rests on a matter of patient's confidentiality in that the mother would know she is the person to whom the media generally is referring," she stated.
The pro life organisations said they were now considering using the "hundreds" of donations to establish a fund to help other women who may be considering a termination because of financial reasons. "It will probably be called Charlotte, to remind the world where this obscenity took place," said a spokesman.