Choosing between medical and surgical termination While NIPT has the potential to facilitate the diagnosis of some abnormalities before the end of the first trimester, current screening and diagnostic technology means that most women will not receive a diagnosis of fetal anomaly until the second trimester. Access to termination, particularly surgical termination, at this gestation is limited in the UK. This was demonstrated by a survey of 351 women who underwent TOPEA, which found that 78% had a medical termination; 88% of this group said they had this method because it was the only one offered (Eisher et al, 2013). Both medical and surgical termination are safe and effective methods for terminating a pregnancy in the second trimester, but women's experiences of each method are very different, and as a result RCOG states that women should be given a choice of method after appropriate counselling (RCOG, 2010; RCOG, 2011). The ability to choose method of termination for fetal abnormality is valued by women (Kerns et al 2011). Health professionals should consider how best to offer women choice, liaison with the independent sector, where surgical termination is more widely available, may be one option.