What is the new abortion law in UK?

The legislation was passed on 21 October 2019 and the legalisation of the provision of abortion services came into force on 31 March 2020. Beforehand, Northern Irish women could access abortion services in other parts of the UK without paying a fee and without committing a criminal offence.

When did the law on abortion change in the UK?

After a further heated political and moral debate, under a free vote, 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.

How did the Abortion Act 1967 come about?

The Abortion Act 1967 was introduced in response to widespread evidence of unsafe illegal abortion and the maternal mortality and morbidity that inevitably result (while many of us are too young to remember the reality of this in the UK, unsafe illegal abortions cause 47,000 deaths worldwide each year).

Why were abortions legal in 1967 UK?

The 1967 Abortion Act took the concept of wellbeing further, by indicating that an abortion was lawful if ‘the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman’ (emphasis added).

Can a doctor refuse to perform an abortion?

An individual medical provider cannot be required to perform or assist in performing an abortion if they have filed a written statement with their hospital, clinic, or other facility explaining that they have a moral, ethical, or religious reason for refusing to participate in the abortion.

Can you be forced to perform an abortion?

No employer shall refuse to employ any person because of the person’s refusal for moral, ethical, or religious reasons to participate in an abortion, unless the person would be assigned in the normal course of business of any hospital, facility, or clinic to work in those parts of the hospital, facility, or clinic …