5 - The Abortion Act 1967 and the performance of abortion by the medical profession 1968–1982

Summary

The last chapter dealt with the influence of the medical profession on the enactment of the Abortion Act 1967. This chapter considers how extensively the Act has been interpreted by some practitioners and the effectiveness of some of the checks on the exercise of medical discretion in relation to abortion.

Medical abortion: 1968–1982

According to Sir Roger Ormrod, although the Abortion Act 1967 seems a modest extension of the law, in practice the result has been very different:

Abortion has become generally available, if not yet quite on demand, but subject only to the attitude of the surgeon concerned or of the clinic to which the woman is referred.

Is there any evidence to support this assertion? Some evidence which does provide some support takes the form of contributions on abortion to the medical press from 1967 to 1982, to which reference will be made in this section. This evidence, together with that from other sources, such as abortion statistics, suggests that, since the enactment of the legislation, the number of medical abortions has increased and that a significant number have been performed at the request of the woman and for social reasons.

The exercise of medical discretion

Numerically, abortions notified to the Chief Medical Officer (C.M.O.) in accordance with the Act rose steadily from 22256 in the first eight months of the Act's operation to a peak of 169362 in 1973. They dipped to 129673 in 1976 but have gradually increased since then, totalling 163045 in 1982. The abortion rate per 1000 residents aged fifteen to forty-four rose from 3.46 in the first eight months to 11.39 in 1973, dipped to 10.46 in 1976 but rose again to 12.32 in 1982.