A woman is taking the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to court after an abortion provider did not inform her that a baby at 23 weeks’ gestation may feel pain and that her unborn child had a chance of surviving outside the womb at the time of her abortion.

Anna-Maria Tudor, 32, had an abortion at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) clinic in Richmond, London and has outlined that she was never told her unborn baby might suffer during the abortion procedure.

Mrs Tudor from Newcastle told the Mail on Sunday, “I did not find out a baby at 23 weeks might be able to feel pain until afterwards. It made me feel awful and I now deeply regret my decision.

Ms Tudor has taken NICE to the High Court and is seeking a declaration that current NICE guidelines, which do not require women to be informed of the potential for foetal pain, are unlawful.

Current guidance for abortion providers relies on a 2010 review by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) that claims that the unborn baby is in an unconscious state and does not reach consciousness until birth.

But two medical researchers, including a ‘pro-choice’ British pain expert who used to think there was no chance unborn babies could feel pain before 24-weeks, say recent studies strongly suggest the assumption is incorrect.