Abortion Act 1967
The Abortion Act 1967[1] (c. 87) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that legalised abortion in Great Britain on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulated the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS).
Long title
An Act to amend and clarify the Law relating to termination of pregnancy by registered medical practitioners.
1967 c. 87
England and Wales; Scotland
27 October 1967
27 April 1968
The bill was introduced by Liberal MP David Steel as a Private Member's Bill. The proposal was backed by the Labour government, who appointed the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Sir John Peel, to chair a medical advisory committee that reported in favour of passing the bill.[2]
After a further heated political and moral debate, the House of Commons passed it by a vote of 167 to 83 on 13 July 1967.[3] The House of Lords granted it a second reading by a vote of 127 to 21 on 19 July,[4] and approved it with minor changes on 23 October.[5] On 25 October, the Commons voted 188—94 to agree with the amendments made by the Lords.[6] The bill was enacted two days later, and came into force on 27 April 1968.
The act made it lawful to have an abortion up to the 28th week if two registered medical practitioners believed in good faith that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, or harm her physical or mental health or that of any of her family members. It did not extend to Northern Ireland, where, until 2019, abortion remained 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".
