MHKs on Tuesday heard expert evidence given about a variety of issues covered by the Abortion Reform Bill.

The House of Keys went into a ’whole House committee’ mode to members to take evidence from witnesses as part of their detailed scrutiny of Dr Alex Allinson’s bill, which aims to relax the current restrictive Isle of Man abortion laws.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle revealed plans to table an amendment that would require women to have counselling ahead of any procedure, basing it on a similar provision in Germany, where counselling is mandatory with certain exceptions. His planned amendment would also require a ’cooling off’ period between counselling and a final decision.

When clarification was sought, legislative draftsman Howard Connell explained: ’The bill as drafted requires that counselling must be offered.

’The chief minister’s proposed amendment would require the woman to have received counselling and to have received it at least 48 hours before any procedure.’

Retired consultant gynaecologist Bob Fayle, one of the witnesses called to appear before the House of Keys on Tuesday, expressed doubt about the merits of Mr Quayle’s proposal.

’By all means, offer counselling, but you cannot force the woman to hear it,’ he said. ’I would say you cannot force anybody to be counselled if they do not wish to be counselled.’

It had always been good practice to allow for a period of reflection after all options were discussed before a final decision was made, he added.

A wide range of issues were covered during Tuesday’s sitting. They ranged from counselling and sex-selective abortion to the provisions covering disability and the need for ’buffer zones’ to protect women using any clinic in the Isle of Man.

The nature of the hearing and the testimonies sought meant that this week’s sitting dealt largely with concerns at the bill’s proposals.

Some MHKs expressed fears over provisions such as permitting abortion up to 24 weeks on ’serious social grounds’.

There was also a suggestion that the clauses permitting abortion after 24 weeks, in the most serious cases, would have to be re-written to ensure it matched UK law, after Mr Fayle said it was likely the necessary complicated procedure for late-stage terminations would need to be performed by specialists in the UK.