Abortion Legislation Timeline
1861 Offences Against The Person Act
Section 58 made abortion a criminal offence. Punishment was imprisonment from three years to life.
1929 The Infant Life Preservation Act
Abortion would no longer be considered a felony if carried out in good faith in order to preserve the mother’s life.
1938 The Bourne Case
Dr Alec Bourne performed an abortion on a 14 year old girl who had been gang-raped by soldiers. He was prosecuted but argued that the abortion was necessary for the health of the girl. The judge agreed, saying that the pregnancy would have ruined her life. This set a legal precedent for performing an abortion to preserve a woman’s mental health.
1967 The Abortion Act, amended in 1990 by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
Resulted from two main concerns.
- Women dying or having complications from back street abortions
- Need for legal clarity about when a doctor could perform an abortion for a mother’s health.
A doctor will not be prosecuted if he conducts an abortion under these circumstances:
- Within 24 weeks of pregnancy
- Termination is necessary for the physical and mental well-being of the woman
- The pregnancy puts the woman’s life at risk
- If the child was born it would have severe mental or physical disabilities.
The approval of two doctors is needed for abortion referral.
Only registered medical practitioners can perform an abortion.
Restrictions on premises where abortions can be performed.
21 June 2007 Parliament orders Scientific Inquiry into the 1967 Abortion Act
27 June 2007 BMA recommends one signature instead of two
At its annual meeting the British Medical Association voted in favour recommending one doctor’s signature instead of two when referring a patient for an abortion.