The Calthorpe Clinic, (now

Marie Stopes International MSI Reproductive Choices, named Marie Stopes International until November 2020, is an international non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries around the world. MSI Reproductive Choices as an ...

Birmingham), was an

abortion clinic Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that first opened in 1969. It was the first clinic in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

opened exclusively for abortions. It was erected at Arthur Road, in a building that was previously an old people's home and started out with 18 beds. The clinic provided surgical and medical terminations for thousands of women each year. By the 2000s, it also provided sterilisation, and

vasectomy Vasectomy, or vasoligation, is an elective surgical procedure for male sterilization or permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vasa deferentia are cut and tied or sealed so as to prevent sperm from entering into the urethra and ...

services. In 1971, the cost of an abortion at the Calthorpe Clinic was £65, including the initial consultations, tests, counselling and overnight accommodation. By 2007, the establishment was the single largest

in the UK with an annual caseload of around 10,000 clients. Approximately 85% of the caseload was on contract to the

NHS 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 " ...

. Due to the relative proximity of Birmingham to Ireland, and the fact that abortion was illegal in Ireland, the clinic also had many Irish clients. It was approved by the

Secretary of State for Health The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent ...

under the

Abortion Act 1967 The Abortion Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom legalising abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulating the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS ...

and regulated by the

Healthcare Commission The Healthcare Commission was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. It was set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of health care and public health in England and Wales. It aimed ...

and had to meet the national minimum standards set by the

Care Standards Act 2000 The Care Standards Act 2000 (CSA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the administration of a variety of care institutions, including children's homes, independent hospitals, nursing homes and residential care h ...

. In February 2012, allegations were made by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' newspaper that the clinic would provide terminations when the reason given was a desire not to have a child of a particular gender. In January and February 2012, the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. I ...

had made unannounced inspections of the clinic, as a result of which the clinic was warned, and a doctor suspended. The

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...

were also asked to investigate. By May 2012, the name and management of the service had changed to Marie Stopes International Birmingham.

See also