Britain’s national broadcaster, the BBC, has been accused of bias after the emergence of a document instructing reporters to use pro-abortion language.

According to The Christian Institute, the BBC’s official ‘News style guide’ requires that staff should never use the term ‘pro-abortion’, but instead use ‘pro-choice’. This is recommended by the guide as “campaigners favour a woman’s right to choose, rather than abortion itself”.

Conversely, however, the guide instructs reporters to avoid the term ‘pro-life’ in favour of ‘anti-abortion’, despite campaigners on that side of the debate routinely describing themselves and their organisations as pro-life.

Reacting to the BBC’s style guide instructions, Peter D. Williams of the Right to Life group described it as “an utterly shameless example of institutional bias against the right to life movement, and for the abortion lobby”.

“They have entirely ignored the standard terms for the right-to-life position, and reduced it – without any reason given – to simply being ‘anti-abortion’,” he said. “This is a rhetorical tactic, and an explicit violation of journalistic objectivity that is utterly unacceptable in a public broadcaster.

“Whether or not BBC bias on life issues is unconscious or pathological, this document shows that is systemic, and that the BBC staff who composed it either cynically or in gross ignorance have stacked the language of the debate in abortion lobbyists’ favour.”

While the BBC is required under its charter agreement to maintain impartiality on all issues, the corporation responded to the allegations of bias on the abortion issue by stating that “we use the terminology that most accurately reflects both sides of the abortion debate”.

Rejecting the BBC’s assertion, Mr Williams said: “The BBC must reverse this policy, and apologise for their utter lack of consultation and fair-mindedness in forming it.”