Clinic counsellor claimed abortion ‘can make you an abuser’

Women at a London abortion clinic have been told having terminations can make them more likely to sexually abuse children they may have later, an investigation has revealed.

An undercover reporter for the Daily Telegraph newspaper posed as a woman asking about the procedure and was told about various risks, including nightmares, seizures and tremors.

In secretly-filmed footage, an adviser who gave her name as Annabel said: “There’s also an increased statistical likelihood of child abuse.”

She added: “When you have a child you have natural maternal instincts towards the child and there are also natural barriers that surround the child that you don’t cross.

“In order to have an abortion you have to break through both those sets of barriers, basically, and some people can find it hard to put them back in place.”

The reporter then asks: “So as a woman I would be more likely to abuse the child?”

“I’m not saying it’s many people. Obviously it’s a low percentage but there seems to be a correlation between the two,” Annabel said.

“What kind of abuse, like sexual abuse?” the reporter asks.

“Yes… I think because it can really confuse relationships with children,” Annabel tells her.

The remarks were made at the Central London Crisis Pregnancy Centre (CLWC).

The same adviser at the CLWC also warned that a woman could be at more risk of sterility. During an appointment last month, the counsellor also told the reporter that infection was “quite common”.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists told the paper there was no scientific evidence to suggest an abortion could make women more likely to abuse a child.

They added the risk of being left infertile was “very, very low”.

Crisis pregnancy centres (CPCs) are a group of unregulated outlets across the UK that promote themselves as confidential advisory services for women trying to deal with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy.

The Telegraph launched its investigation into CPCs after receiving information that specific centres were giving women inaccurate medical information to women considering a termination.