GP who told patients to think twice about abortion is cleared of breaking medical guidelines

The General Medical Council investigated GP Tammie Downes after receiving a complaint about her conduct.

Dr Downes, a doctor of 13 years, revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail that when women came to her to discuss having an abortion she would often encourage them to consider all the other options available, including having the baby.

Dr Tammie Downes has been cleared by the General Medical Council after being accused of breaching medical and ethical guidelines by advising against abortion

She claims a third of these women did not go ahead with abortions and at least eight babies are alive today that would have been aborted.

Pro-choice critics accused Dr Downes of letting her personal antiabortion views affect how she dealt with patients  -  which amounted to a breach of GMC guidelines.

Had she been found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the GMC she could have been struck off the medical register. But last night the doctor, 37, who works in West Cornwall, revealed that the charges against her had been dropped.

She told of her delight at being cleared by the GMC and insisted that she had never acted improperly.

But she said the investigation by the GMC had been an ordeal. She is also concerned that other doctors will be reluctant to offer women seeking an abortion the 'full range of options' for fear of being reported to the medical regulator.

'It was a worrying time and it felt completely unjust because I was sure that I was doing the job of a good GP  -  not something I should be suspended for,' she said.

'What they were accusing me of was ridiculous. However, I was definitely fearful that I may have to go to court.

'I know other doctors who have had complaints made about them that have taken years to resolve. It didn't stop me working but I did have to delay reapplying to be a GP trainer until the investigation had finished.'

Figures revealed that the number of women choosing to have abortions in England and Wales has hit an all-time high of almost 200,000. Around one in five doctors exercises the legal right of conscientious objection under the 1967 Abortion Act to not become involved in performing abortions or in advising patients about them.

While Dr Downes, who is married to Greg, an Anglican vicar, refuses to sign abortion forms because of her Christian and pro-life views, she is happy to see patients considering a termination to discuss the options.

'I am carrying on as I have always done  -  offering women alternatives and helping them to think through the decision they are making,' she said.

'Doctors who say it is a woman's right to have an abortion and tick the box without looking at the other options and implications of having an abortion are not doing the patient any favours.'

She added: 'Patients will get worse treatment if doctors are fearful of doing a good job of ensuring that people fully understand the processes they are going through.'

The GMC investigation was triggered by a complaint last November believed to be from a practising doctor involved in the pro-choice movement after Dr Downes expressed her views on abortion in an interview for this newspaper.