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  • Title: The Abortion Act twenty years on.
    Journal: Lancet; 1988 Jan 16; 1(8577):91-2. PubMed ID: 2891985.
    Abstract:
    The 20th anniversary of Great Britain's 1967 Abortion Act represents an opportunity for a critical reappraisal of this legislation. In 1986, 145,619 procedures were performed on British women, indicating that legal abortion has replaced criminal abortion. There have been no abortion-related deaths in the past 2 years. Less encouraging has been the failure of the National Health Service to make abortions easily available to poor women. Britain's National Health Service performs only 46% of all abortions in England and Wales, and there are long delays before the procedure can be scheduled. Although the Abortion Act does not define an upper limit after which abortion may not be performed, 24 weeks is generally regarded as the cut-off point. Almost yearly, attempts to repeal or restrict the Abortion Act occur. Pending is the Alton Bill, which seeks to introduce an upper time limit for abortion of the 18th week of gestation, except in cases where abortion is necessary to save the mother's life or if the fetus has abnormalities that would be incompatible with life.
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