Forty years ago this October Parliament passed the abortion act that gave a woman, instead of her doctor, the right to choose.
An act that according to its defenders was major victory for women’s rights but to its opponents has resulted in the murder of nearly seven million children.
Pro-choice and pro-life groups have been mobilising for the coming anniversary with parliamentary skirmishes over the upper limit.
Supporters of the act argue that dozens of women in the UK died every year before 1967 and that thousands still do around the world.
Opponents claim that there is growing evidence that the procedure is both physically and mentally harmful to women:
(Click below to listen to Michaela Aston, education officer for pro-life group LIFE)
(Click below to listen to Caroline Phillips, director of the Calthorpe Clinic. The UK's largest private abortion clinic)
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A part of the debate within the medical community is on how to address the perceived growing lack of available abortion doctors.
Part of the 1967 act allows for doctors morally opposed to abortion to opt-out of the procedure but requires them to refer women to a physician who isn’t.
Dr Kate Guthrie, an abortion doctor based in Hull, doesn’t think the number of anti-abortion GP’s is growing but simply puts it down to more honesty in general practice:
“GP’s are much more upfront now about whether they are or not prepared to take part in abortion care.”
As regards the lack of abortion doctors, Dr Guthrie believes that for some junior doctors the decision to not go train in abortion services was not so much to do with moral objection but that there are more exciting areas of medicine to specialise in:
“When people like me were junior you did what you were told, you didn’t have many rights as a junior doctor, you went where you were put.”
The emeritus professor of social health at Middlesex University, Colin Francome is currently conducting a survey of 1000 GP’s from across the UK on attitudes to abortion.
He expects to publish his results in time for the fortieth anniversary but current indications show the results to be broadly similar to a study from 10-years ago:
(Click below to listen to Professor Francome)
Once such GP who refuses to refer women who come to him seeking consent for a termination is Dr Trevor Stammers, a tutor in general practice at St George’s Hospital University of London, who has given evidence before Parliament on how abortion can cause mental ill-health:
“Heaven help us if we’ve reached the stage where doctors, against their consciences, are forced to do what the state demands! I hear the Nazi jackboot echoing in the distance.”
He doesn’t think abortion will ever be abolished but is optimistic that the numbers can be drastically reduced:
(Click below to listen to Dr Stammers)
(Click below to listen to Roger Ingam, professor of health and community psychology at Southampton University)
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The attitude of Dr Stammers and others towards referral is condemned by the Labour MP for Crawley and leading pro-choice campaigner Laura Moffatt:
(Click below to listen to Laura Moffatt)
Abortion has been a legal fact of British life for forty years but the upcoming anniversary has revived and galvanized a debate that many people, if they thought of it at all, may have thought settled.