THE Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, spoke in the House of Lords last week in support of a change to the legal definition of a stillbirth: from a death after 24 weeks into pregnancy to a death after 20 weeks. Bishop Watson was speaking on the Lords Bill introduced by Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat). “Up to 10,000 families in the UK lose their babies between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy,” Baroness Benjamin said in the debate last Friday. The World Health Organization draws the line at 22 weeks, and countries including Australia and the United States put the definition at 20 weeks. She highlighted work being done on this area, including moves to extend bereavement leave, but suggested that the legal definition of stillbirth should remain at 24 weeks.

Source: The Times July 08, 2025 14:09 UTC