Aborted fetuses could survive. And they have, one in thirty. Such are the results of a 10-year study covering 20 UK hospitals.

Most of these babies with disabilities were born between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy and all lived for no more than a few hours, according to a report published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology study.

About 190,000 abortions take place annually in England and Wales. This is nearly a quarter of all pregnancies. Most abortions are carried out on "healthy" fetuses for social reasons.

The study, however, looked at the outcomes of 3,189 abortions performed between 1995 and 2004 because the baby had a disability of some kind. It showed that 102 - or around one in 30 - were born alive. But abortion experts said such incidents were extremely rare.

Abortion is allowed in Britain up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Beyond this, a termination is only sanctioned if the baby has a severe disability or if the mother's life is at risk.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' 1996 guidance on termination of pregnancy for foetal abnormality say a legal abortion must not be allowed to result in a live birth.

Theoretically, such an event could result in a doctor being accused of murder if a "deliberate act" - that is, legal abortion - were to be followed by a live birth and the subsequent death of the child because of immaturity.