The world's most influential health organisation is calling on governments to scrap the legal time limit on abortion, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. 

New guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) claim laws preventing abortion at any point during pregnancy risk violating the rights of 'women, girls or other pregnant persons'. 

But last night Tory MP Fiona Bruce, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, described any proposal to legalise abortion up to birth as 'completely unacceptable' and 'truly shocking'. 

She added: 'A viable human being could have his or her life ended up to the point of birth. Yet a day, an hour, even moments later, similar action against a child could constitute murder.'

The WHO's 'Abortion Care Guideline' published this month – six years after the MoS revealed the Royal College of Midwives was pushing for the same policy – also recommends that governments: 

Allow abortion under all circumstances – ruling out laws banning terminations because the foetus is the 'wrong' sex; 

Stop women requiring approval from a doctor or nurse to have a termination; l

Roll out 'pills by post' schemes so that women can be sent abortion medication after a phone call; 

Curtail medical professionals' rights to refuse to take part in abortions on conscience grounds. 

The United Nations, which oversees the WHO, has welcomed the suggested removal of what it called 'unnecessary policy barriers to safe abortion', including 'limits on when an abortion can take place'.