Significant amendments have been made to the proposed Abortion Bill following feedback from a public consultation.

Meanwhile, more than 2,800 people have signed a petition calling for a militant anti-abortion group to be banned from the island.

Ramsey MHK Dr Alex Allinson, who is leading the move to reform the island’s abortion law, said he has made changes to his Bill reflect public opinion and the evidence provided by many professional organisations and groups.

He said: ’Following on from the very successful public consultation in September I have now had the chance to look at all the responses.

’While the majority were in favour of reforming our present laws there were criticisms of the draft bill and a desire to explore the moral and ethical issues it raised.’

Whilst the key principles of the Bill remain, changes have been made to a number of clauses.

There are changes to the language used, especially removing out-dated terms such as handicapped, defect and abnormality.

There are also changes to terms such as ’fatal foetal abnormality’, and an emphasis on the serious nature of foetal anomalies to be considered grounds for later termination.

The alterations include clearer guidelines for counselling especially in the event of foetal anomaly, so that abortion is not presented as a default position.

Pro-life group HEAR made the point that all options should be discussed, using specialist advice and literature from groups who represent people with disabilities such as the Down’s Syndrome Association

And the definition of ’woman’ is expanded to include transgender people at the suggestion of Handmaids IOM.

The proposed list of social reasons for second trimester terminations, which some people criticised as being too prescriptive, has been removed.

A clause on conscientious objection has been re-written to reflect UK practice in response to comments from the General Medical Council.

Clause 11 clearly states that a woman who takes abortion pills, however obtained, is not committing an offence.

Current time limits have remained unchanged, although Women on Web, the British Society of Abortion Care Providers and Humanists UK wanted abortion on request available for longer than the first 14 weeks.

While HEAR, LIFE, CARE and some other groups objected to any termination after 24 weeks, this option was supported by professional groups including the Royal College of Gynaecologists and the British Medical Association.

The risk of sex selection was raised by HEAR, Stop Gendercide, the Broadway Baptist Church and Lord Alton of Liverpool. But it is illegal in the UK where the Department of Health has found no evidence for this taking place.

Dr Allinson’s revised Bill will now be brought to the House of Keys early next year for a full debate.

Dr Allinson has criticised last week’s controversial protest by UK-based anti-abortion group Abort67, which featured disturbing images of abortion procedures.

He said: ’They have evangelical belief that abortion is always wrong and graphic images will change people’s minds. They want to shock and provoke.’

More than 2,800 people have signed an e-petition calling for Abort67 to be prevented from returning to the island following its controversial vigil in Strand Street.

Some passers-by said the group should not display images of aborted foetuses as they were offensive.

The change.org petition, which will be delivered to the island’s Attorney General, has been launched by Ali Campbell who said: ’The aims, objectives and ethos of this organisation alongside the way that they "promote" their message is not welcome on the Isle of Man.’

Abort67 says it uses disturbing images on its placards as it believes this is the only way people will know what really happens during an abortion.

The group’s Aisling Hubert said if the law is changed it would open the door to ’hundreds’ of abortions a year in the island.

There was widespread support during the consultation on Dr Allinson’s Bill for a clause to prevent demonstrations outside facilities offering abortion services.

But legal advice has suggested that this could be dealt with through existing laws if it became a problem in the future.

There was also wide support to the idea of safety zones, although this was opposed by HEAR.

Mr Allinson said Abort67’s visit had generated debate about the need for more formal public safeguards.

Last week the Home Affairs Committee in the UK heard evidence about harassment and intimation outside abortion clinics.

It heard how Ealing Council has voted to set up a safe zone outside the Marie Stopes clinic in the borough to protect women and staff.

Residents had felt reluctant to walk past the graphic images on display and some women had been approached, blocked from going in through the gat and even called ’murderers’. Others had rung the clinic to cancel their appointment when they found out that a vigil was taking place outside.