Additional safeguards were added to the Abortion Reform Bill this week, as the House of Keys continued its fine-detail scrutiny of the legislation.

With some of the key elements of reform already approved, there were fewer interested onlookers in the public gallery on Tuesday as MHKs resumed their consideration of the bill’s clauses.

Although some crucial arguments remain, there was marked progress in other areas, including approval of the principle of introducing a new clause to cover the duties placde upon medics after a termination is carried out.

The new clause was tabled by Chris Robertshaw (Douglas East) and sets out that, following a termination procedure: ’If the child is born alive, the medical practitioner, midwife or nurse attending the woman is under a duty to take all reasonable steps to preserve the life of the child.’

If there is no live birth, the foetus must be disposed of in accordance with the wishes of the pregnant woman, or in the absence of any direction ’in accordance the normal practice of the hospital or other facility where the termination occurs’. The new clause stipulates neither the foetus nor any part of it ’may be used or made available for any medical or other experiment or procedure for any purpose of any description without the express written consent of the mother’.

Mr Robertshaw told MHKs: ’It is a straight lift from our previous act. It expresses the essential caring nature of our medical professionals, a humanity, a respect for a woman in very difficult circumstances - surely why people go into medicine in the first place?’ Members approved the principle of adding the clause, but the details have yet to be fully debated.

Dr Alex Allinson, the mover of the Abortion Reform Bill, gave his qualified support but indicated his intention to table amendments when the detail was debated next month.

He said the number of procedures where a child could be born alive was very low. The medical profession had ’wrestled’ with the ethics of those situations.

’The Nuffield Council on Bioethics have stated that current practice in most neonatal units in the UK is usually to resuscitate a baby if the outcome is uncertain and provide intensive care until the outlook is clearer,’ he said.

’However, as lifesaving treatments can be invasive and may cause suffering, it is difficult to know whether this is the right course of action if the baby is unlikely to benefit.’

Dr Allinson said he would table an amendment to Mr Robertshaw’s proposed new clause to the effect that ’if the child was born alive the medical practitioner, midwife or nurse tending the woman is under a duty, after discussion with the mother, to take all reasonable steps, so that we ensure that we are acting in a humane way and not subjecting the newly-born baby to unnecessary suffering if the likelihood of a good outcome is minimal’.

The bill’s clauses stage will continue on April 24, when an attempt is expected to be made to remove ’social well-being’ from the bill’s definition of health, along with bids to introduce new definitions of ’serious impairment’ and ’serious social grounds’, to apply to already approved provision for when abortions can take place in the 15-24 week period and emergency late abortions.

Abortion on request in the first 14 weeks of a pregnancy has already been approved.