Men's abortion leaflet launched

Three quarters of men said they would support a partner's choice

A new abortion information leaflet has been produced specifically for men whose partners are undergoing a termination.

"Men Too" has been produced by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) following a survey of husbands and boyfriends of women requesting abortion, who said they wanted more information about how to help their partners through the procedure.

The leaflet is intended to help men make sense of what happens at the clinic and provide appropriate support after the procedure.

It makes sense to help men feel as comfortable as possible about the issue

Ann Furedi, British Pregnancy Advisory Service

The leaflet addresses the most common questions that men have raised with BPAS staff about abortion.

A street survey of 200 London men, commissioned by BPAS showed that:

74% (140) said they would support a wife or girlfriend's choice to have an abortion if she had an unwanted pregnancy; a further 13% (26) were unsure whether they would or not; just 11% ( 23) said they would not support her

54% (109) said they personally knew a woman who had had an abortion

63% (127) said they felt there was insufficient information for men about abortion

Ann Furedi, BPAS director of communications said: "Men have no legal rights when it comes to abortion.

"Legally an abortion is a matter between a woman and her doctor - and this is as it should be.

"Having said that, it makes sense to help men feel as comfortable as possible about the issue.

"Sometimes they have concerns or questions of their own that they are too embarrassed to raise.

"We hope our new leaflet will answer these."

The Family Planning Association (FPA) has endorsed the initiative.

A spokeswoman said: "We welcome all initiatives to support communication between couples."