The Abortion Act 1967 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

legalising abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulating the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS). It was introduced by

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

as a Private Member's Bill, but was backed by the government, who appointed the president of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that ...

, Sir John Peel, to chair a medical advisory committee that reported in favour of passing the bill. After a further heated political and moral debate, under a

free vote A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party. In a parliamentary ...

, it was passed on 27 October 1967, coming into effect on 27 April 1968. The Act made abortion legal on a wide number of grounds in all of Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) up to 28 weeks' gestation. The Act does not extend to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, where abortion was illegal unless the doctor acted "only to save the life of the mother", or if continuing the pregnancy would have resulted in the pregnant woman becoming a "physical or mental wreck". The situation was the same as it was in England before the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967. At midnight, on 21 October 2019, due to the Northern Ireland Assembly failing to restore devolution, sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 were repealed, decriminalising abortion. As such, there is no need for the exemptions in the Abortion Act 1967 to extend to Northern Ireland.

Later laws

Since 1967, members of Parliament have introduced a number of private member's bills to change the abortion law. Five resulted in substantive debate (1975, 1976, 1979, 1988, and 1990), but all failed. The

Lane Committee In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

investigated the workings of the Act in 1974 and declared its support.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990

Changes to the Abortion Act 1967 were introduced in Parliament through the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which is in charge of human embryo research, along with monitoring and licensing fertil ...

. The time limits were lowered from 28 to 24 weeks for most cases on the grounds that medical technology had advanced sufficiently to justify the change. Restrictions were removed for late abortions in cases of risk to life, fetal abnormality, or grave physical and mental injury to the woman. Some Members of Parliament claimed not to have been aware of the vast change the decoupling of the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 would have on the Abortion Act 1967, particularly in relation to the unborn disabled child. Politicians from the unionist and nationalist parties in Northern Ireland joined forces on 20 June 2000 to block any extension of the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland where terminations were only allowed on a restricted basis.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008

There was widespread action across the country to oppose any attempts to restrict abortion access via the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (now Act) in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

(

Report Stage In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ...

and

Third Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

22 October 2008). MPs voted to retain the current legal limit of 24 weeks. Amendments proposing reductions to 22 weeks and 20 weeks were defeated by 304 to 233 votes and 332 to 190 votes respectively. A number of

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

amendments were proposed by Diane Abbott MP, Katy Clark MP and

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

MP - including NC30 Amendment of the Abortion Act 1967: Application to Northern Ireland. However, it was reported that the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Government at the time asked MPs not to table these amendments (and at least until

) and then allegedly used parliamentary mechanisms in order to prevent a vote.

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

, in particular, was reported to have blocked the series of votes to liberalise Britain's abortion laws.

50th Anniversary of the Abortion Act 1967 (UK)

In May 2017, the Labour Party under

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

's leadership made a commitment to extend the Abortion Act 1967 to

. In June 2017, the UK Government revealed plans to provide some type of free abortion services in England for women from Northern Ireland in an attempt to head off a Conservative rebellion in a vote on the Queen's speech.

References

External links

* *UK Parliament Inquiry
Scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act 1967
House of Commons Press Notice, 20 June 2007. {{UK legislation United Kingdom abortion law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1967