Healthcare staff should not report suspected illegal abortions to the police as prosecutions are never in the public interest, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has said. The health unions should join the Royal College in issuing advice to health workers against reporting abortions to the police. Dr Ranee Thakar, the College’s president, said “outdated and antiquated” abortion laws meant women were “left vulnerable to criminal investigation.”