Majority of Brits do not support funding of abortion overseas

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A poll has found little support for UK funding of abortion overseas.

The poll of 2,018 UK adults was carried out by Whitestone Insight for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).

Over half of the adults surveyed (56%) agreed that it was wrong for the government to fund abortion services outside of the UK.

Six in 10 said that the UK should cut funding to countries "where there is concern that women are routinely forced or coerced into having an abortion".

Over three quarters (76%) of survey participants said that the UK government should make it clear to countries receiving aid that gender-selective abortion is wrong, rising to 78% among female survey respondents.

Three quarters (76%) agreed that abortion on the grounds of a child's ethnicity should be banned.

The survey was conducted by SPUC together with a report, called "Complicit", accusing China of carrying out coerced abortions, especially among minority populations like Uyghur Muslims, and suggesting that the UK is complicit by sending aid to the country.

Michael Robinson, Executive Director of SPUC, commented: "Our report lays bare the scandal that UK aid, however well-intentioned, has been directly or indirectly involved in funding coerced abortions in China.

"This is truly shocking and a slap in the face to the generosity of the hard-pressed taxpayer who expects aid to help and support pregnant women, not being used in coerced or forced abortions."