An investigation into claims that some doctors are granting women illegal abortions based on the sex of their unborn baby has been launched by the Department of Health.
It has been sparked by an undercover newspaper study into sex-selection abortions, secretly filming doctors at British clinics agreeing to terminate foetuses because they were either male or female.
The doctors were also allegedly recorded admitting they were prepared to falsify paperwork to arrange the illegal abortions.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he was "extremely concerned" about the allegations made by the Daily Telegraph, and has instructed officials to investigate.
"Sex selection is illegal and is morally wrong," Mr Lansley said.
The police, the General Medical Council and the Care Quality Commission are all investigating and the newspaper is sharing its evidence with the Department of Health, he said.
"If this has happened, not only is it a criminal act but involves professionals deliberately falsifying the reports that necessarily accompany the termination of any pregnancy," he added.
The newspaper said undercover reporters accompanied pregnant women to nine clinics in different parts of the country.
In three cases doctors were recorded offering to arrange terminations after being told the women did not want to go ahead with the pregnancy because of their unborn child's sex.
In the UK, abortions are allowed on certain grounds, including that continuing with the pregnancy would be a greater risk to the woman's life, physical or mental health than ending the pregnancy; continuing would be more of a risk to the physical or mental health of any of the woman's existing children; and there is a real risk the child would have a serious physical or mental disability.
In September, Tory backbencher Nadine Dorries and Labour's Frank Field lost a Commons vote on the issue of counselling.
They wanted to prevent non-statutory abortion providers such as Marie Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) from offering counselling.
Ms Dorries said that, because they receive money for carrying out terminations, the organisations have a vested interest.
Speaking on Boulton and Co on Thursday, Mrs Dorries said she did not believe the public would back the NHS providing abortions for women who do not want a baby because of its sex.
But she denied there was "conspiracy" designed to encourage more people to call for the law to be tightened up.
Kate Smurthwaite from Abortion Rights criticised what she described as a "newspaper sting".
She said a woman's right to control what happens to her body should trump other considerations.
Ms Smurthwaite lalso accused Mrs Dorries and the Government of trying to make changes to the rules "by the backdoor" by altering Department of Health guidelines.
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