Critics of Britain's abortion laws will ask ministers to cut the normal time limit for a termination from 24 weeks to 20 as part of a new bill.
The Pro-Life Alliance says babies born at 24 weeks now have a much better chance of survival than when the Abortion Act was passed in 1967.
Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who sits on the Commons Science and Technology Committee, which will debate a possible change in the law, said:” In good hospitals with good neo-natal units we know that 42 per cent of babies who are born at 23 weeks survive, 72 per cent at 24 weeks."
But Dr Tony Calland, chairman of the BMA's medical ethics committee, said that after debating the issue, his organisation felt that despite "very considerable" scientific advances, the time limit should stay the same.
"We still felt that the number of foetuses below 24 weeks who survived successfully was really extremely small," he said.
According to the Department of Health, there were 193,000 abortions in England and Wales last year. Of that total, 89 per cent were performed in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.
Dr Calland also said he wanted to remove the requirement for a woman wanting an abortion in the first three months to gain permission from two different doctors.
"As long as they have had all the risks and benefits explained to them, so they have an appropriate amount of information to make a legitimate decision, we feel it is up to them to decide what is best for them," he said.
The Human Tissue and Embryos Bill will be debated next month.
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