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On 27 October 1967 a private member’s bill, introduced by David Steel but backed by the government, was, after a heated debate and a free vote, passed. It came into effect on 27 April 1968. The act made abortion legal in the UK up to 28 weeks gestation. Though sometimes presented as a triumph for women’s rights, it rapidly reduced a major clinical problem – death from septic illegal abortions.
The scene had been set by the Bourne case in 1938, when a young woman was gang raped by a group of soldiers and became pregnant. Dr Alec Bourne agreed to perform an abortion for her, informed the police of his intention and was subsequently prosecuted. Bourne argued that it was necessary to perform the abortion to preserve the health of the young woman. The judge agreed that forcing her to continue with the pregnancy would have been tantamount to wrecking her life. The doctor was not convicted. This case set a legal precedent for performing an abortion to preserve a woman’s mental health.
Family doctors took rapid advantage of the legislation and the number of legal terminations soared year on year.
- For a fuller account of the events, see www.nhshistory.net
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From NHS History Blog
Geoffrey Rivett is vice-chair of the governors of Homerton foundation trust and author of From Cradle to Grave: fifty years of the NHS.
Readers' comments (1)
Rebecca Findlay | 28-Oct-2009 12:13 pm
This entry is incorrect. The Abortion Act of 1967 did not make abortion legal in the UK. It only made abortion legal in Great Britain. The act was never extended to Northern Ireland. So to this day most women in Northern Ireland who need an abortion are denied one - including women who've been raped or whose pregnancies are diagnosed with fetal abnormality. Women in Northern Ireland who need an abortion have to travel to England or elsewhere in Europe to pay for one themselves. For more information see fpa's campaign to extend abortion to Northern Ireland at www.fpa.org.uk.
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Editor's reply
Thank you for the correction.