RESERCH: Abortion Act 1967 (1)

https://jme.bmj.com/content/27/suppl_2/ii33 
Article published on 1st October 2001

Introduction

• Came into effect on 27th of April 1967.
• Permits the termination of a pregnancy by a registered practitioner (under certain conditions)
• Application in England and Wales.
• Regulations under The Abortion Regulations 1968 - requires any such termination to be notified within seven days, to the Chief Medical Officer to the Department of Health or to the Chief Medical Officer of the Welsh Officer.
• Section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 made changes to the Abortion Act 1967.

Conditions of the Act and statutory grounds

A legally induced abortion must be:

• performed by a registered medical practitioner.
• performed, except in an emergency, in a NHS hospital or in a place for the time being approved for the purpose of the Act.
• certified by two registered medical practitioners, as justified under one or more of the following grounds:

1. the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated.
2. the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
3. the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater to the life of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated.
4. the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
5. the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
6. the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, or injury to the physical or mental of any existing child(ren) of the family of the pregnant woman.
7. there is substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped; or in emergency, certified by the operating practitioner as immediately necessary.
8. to save the life of the pregnant woman.
9. to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

The Act provides that in relation to grounds C and D the certifying practitioner may take account of the pregnant woman's actual or reasonably foreseeable environment.

Changes made after the Abortion Act 1937 by section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.

Category of premises/purchaser

Expect in emergencies, abortion operations may only be carried out in NHS hospitals, in certain approved services' hospitals or in the other premises specifically approved by the secretary of state. (e.g: clinics run by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS)).

Abortion statistics

In 1991, there were 173,701 abortions performed on women resident in England and Wales.

How the number and rate of abortions has changed

• From 1968 to 1973, the annual number of legal abortions increased rapidly then levelled off to 100,000 a year.
• Abortion numbers then rose each year until 1991, mainly because the numbers the numbers of women in the population aged 15 to 44 grew due to a large increase in the birth rate in Britain between 1956 and 1963.
• More abortions between 1975 and 1990 because there were more women to become pregnant.
• Number of abortions remain stable between 1998 and 1999.
• reasons from new stability could be due to abortion becoming a more acceptable solution than ever before when contraception fails or has been used incorrectly.

Numbers and rates of abortions carried out on residents of England and Wales for the last five years:

• 1995: 154,315 or 12.0 per 1000 women aged 14-49.
• 1996: 167,916 or 13.0 per 1000 women aged 14-49.
• 1997: 170,15 or 13.3 per 1000 women aged 14-49.
• 1998: 177,871 or 13.9 per 1000 women aged 14-49.
• 1999: 173,701 or 13.6 per 1000 women aged 14-49.

Number of abortions declined between 1990 and 1995 - possibly better use of contraception.

Who pays for abortions?

• Abortions are not automatically available through the NHS.
• On average, the NHS pays for just under three quarters (74%) of abortions in England and Wales.
• Significant differences between regions.

At what gestation do most abortions occur?

Almost 90% of abortions are in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Just 1% are after 20 weeks.

Abortions in England and Wales in 1999 by gestation (total 173,701):

• under 9 weeks: 73,882 or 43%
• 9-12 weeks: 80,800 or 46%
• 13-19 weeks: 17,274 or 10%
• 20 weeks and over: 1,745 or 1%

Later abortions may be due to:

• the woman not being able to get a hospital appointment earlier in the pregnancy.
• the woman may not have realised the they were pregnant.
• very young women may feel unable to cope and so hide the pregnancy.
• sometimes the pregnancy was originally wanted but the woman's circumstances change.
• fetal abnormality is an important reason for late abortions, as many cannot be diagnosed early in pregnancy.

At what age do people have abortions?

Abortions in England and Wales 1999 by age (totally 173,701):

• under 16: 3,603 or 2%
• 16-19: 32,807 or 19%
• 20-24: 45,004 or 26%
• 25-29: 38,492 or 22%
• 30-34: 29,139 or 16%
• 35-44: 24,096 or 14%
• 45 and over: 502
• not stated: 58

Why do women from abroad travel to Britain for abortion?

In 1999, almost 100,000 women who lived abroad travelled to England to have an abortion.

Most of these women come from the British Isles, mainly Northern Ireland (1,430) and the Irish republic (6,226).

Those from elsewhere in the world come to Britain because abortion is only available in their countries, until 12 weeks (France and Italy), or not available at all (Arab States).

The numbers have fallen from their peak of 57,000 in 1973 because most of the other European countries now have abortion laws that are less restrictive than those in Britain.

In conclusion, I found this source very interesting as it breaks down the key elements of the Act, and also the impact of the wider world. However, this source is a journal, and so someone has written it for assessment purposes. It was also published in 2001, arguably making it outdated. The journal is also from a medical view point, not legal, which I shall consider.

(In the post above, I have noted my findings for further use, all information is from the link at the top of this page.)