Women should be able to have abortions simply because their unborn child is the ‘wrong’ sex, a leading ethics expert at the British Medical Association has said. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Professor Wendy Savage called for the law banning such terminations to be scrapped. Her comments will cause shockwaves as she is an influential member of the BMA’s 18-strong medical ethics committee. They also come amid concerns that British parents are seeking abortions based on the gender of babies – which has led to some NHS hospitals refusing to tell parents-to-be that information. Fears that British women are undergoing abortions based on the gender of their babies have grown since a 2014 study found that Britain had up to 4,700 fewer girls than would be statistically expected. And undercover journalists have secretly filmed doctors appearing to agree to carry out abortions for reasons of gender alone. This led the Department of Health to issue new guidance clarifying the law, which stated: ‘Abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal.’ Pro-life campaigners reacted with dismay and described her demands as ‘utterly abhorrent’. Conservative MP Mark Field said: ‘Suggesting that women should be able to abort babies solely because they happen to be either male or, much more usually, female, is utterly abhorrent. ‘To have someone like Wendy Savage with her extreme views at the heart of the BMA is a very worrying sign. The majority of people in this country, even those who support abortion, think sex-selective abortion is a step too far.’