Will pregnant women be banned from flying by full body scanners?

The picture to the right was doing the rounds yesterday after the Government announced the use of full body scanner in aiirports being rolled out fully.

Now, putting aside the possible fact that the use of these scanners may actually break UK law in terms of exposure to ionising radiation regulations, there is an interesting little problem within the decision, also confirmed in a written question. The ministerial statement says,

If a passenger is selected for scanning, and declines, they will not be permitted to fly.

This was reinterated in response to a Parliamentary question.

So here's a simple question, what about a young woman that is 6 weeks pregnant? Are they really going to refuse to let her fly when she recalls the advice on hospital posters about X-rays and pregnancy and so refuses to be scanned?

One other thing to note, back when this was just a trial at Heathrow, if you refused you were frisked instead. Why is it now the case that if you refuse you are assumed to be hiding something and barred from flying?

Harman Image via Big Brother Watch