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Abortion

Abortion. Aug 2008. The history of British abortion law.

eric-perry
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Abortion

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  1. Abortion Aug 2008

  2. The history of British abortion law • Made Illegal in the 19th century. Before then Common Law had allowed abortion before quickening. Abortions performed after quickening an offence under Common Law but no fixed penalties and the woman having the abortion was not necessarily held responsible. In 1803 the law changed and abortion became a criminal offence from the time of conception with penalties of up to life imprisonment for both the pregnant woman and the abortionist. • The Offences against the Person Act 1861 • Section 58 made abortion a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment from three years to life, even when performed for medical reasons. The Offences Against the Person Act is still in place and the current law simply provides exceptions to the 1861 law by clarifying when an abortion can be legal.

  3. The Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 • Amended the law so that abortion would no longer be regarded as a felony if it was carried out in good faith for the sole purpose of preserving the life of the mother. • Made it illegal to kill a child 'capable of being born live', and set 28 weeks as the age at which a fetus was assumed to be able to survive. • The Infant Life Preservation Act has never applied in Scotland. • The 'Bourne Judgement' 1938 • In 1938, Dr Alex Bourne performed an abortion on a 14-year-old girl after a gang of soldiers had raped her. Dr Bourne informed the police and was prosecuted. In court, the judge ruled that Dr Bourne had acted in the 'honest belief' that the abortion would 'preserve the life of the mother'. • The Abortion Act 1967

  4. The Abortion Act 1967 came into effect on 27 April 1968 and permits termination of pregnancy subject to certain conditions. Abortions must be performed by a registered practitioner in a National Health Service hospital or in a location that has been specially approved by the Department of Health • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 • Section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act made changes to the Abortion Act. It introduced a time limit of 24 weeks for grounds 3 and 4. Grounds 1, 2 and 5 are now without limit. Before this change, a 28-week limit had applied for all grounds. • The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act also confirmed that when a woman had a multiple pregnancy it was legal for a doctor to terminate the life of one or more fetuses leaving others alive. • The Abortion Act 1967 and Section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 do not apply to Northern Ireland.

  5. An abortion may be approved providing two doctors agree in good faith that one or more of the following criteria apply: • 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; • the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of any existing child(ren) of the family of the pregnant woman; • there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped; • or in an emergency, certified by the operating practitioner alone, as immediately necessary: • to save the life of the pregnant woman; or • to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. The doctor may take account of the pregnant woman's actual or reasonably foreseeable environment, including her social and economic circumstances.

  6. Key Facts 2007 • Total number of abortions was 198,500, compared with 193,700 in 2006, a rise of 2.5% • Age-standardised abortion rate was 18.6 per 1,000 resident women aged 15-44, compared with 18.3 in 2006 • Rate was highest, at 36.0 per 1,000, for women aged 19 • Under-16 abortion rate was 4.4 and the under-18 rate was 19.8 per 1,000 women, both the higher than in 2006.

  7. Key Facts 2007 • 89% of abortions were funded by the NHS (compared to 51% in 2002); of these, just over half (57%) took place in the independent sector under NHS contract   • 90% of abortions were carried out at under 13 weeks gestation; 70% were at under 10 weeks   • medical abortions accounted for 35% of the total compared with 30% in 2006 and 19% in 2004    • 1,900 abortions (1%) were under ground E, risk that the child would be born handicapped 

  8. Previous terminations (2007) • Number of previous terminations • 0 134,269 • 1 49,484 • 2 11,136 • 3 2,605 • 4 740 • 5 184 • 6 52 • 7 29 • Total 198,449

  9. In England, Wales and Scotland abortion is legal under 24 weeks of pregnancy if two doctors agree that it is necessary for one of the following reasons: • having the baby would harm the woman's mental or physical health more than having the abortion. • having the baby would harm the mental or physical health of any children she already has. • An abortion is also legal at any time in pregnancy if two doctors agree that: • the abortion is necessary to save the woman's life or prevent serious permanent harm to her mental or physical health, or • there is a high risk that the baby would be seriously handicapped. • Note that the stage of pregnancy is calculated from the first day of the woman's last period. Note also that different laws apply outside England, Wales and Scotland.

  10. Early medical abortion • Medical abortion can be performed in the first 9 weeks of pregnancy (higher risk of haemorrhage at later gestations). • Oral mifepristone • 36 to 48 hours later, vaginal prostaglandin. • These two drugs end most early pregnancies within the following four hours. It feels like having a heavy and rather painful period.

  11. Early Methods • Vacuum aspiration (known as 'the suction method') • Available up to 14/15 weeks of pregnancy. • General or local anaesthetic. • The cervix (the entrance to the womb at the top of the vagina) is gently stretched to allow a tube to pass through it into the uterus. Once the tube is inserted the pregnancy is removed by suction. • Day case procedure

  12. Late Methods (after 13 weeks) • Medical • Vacuum Aspiration • Dilatation and evacuation • Ultra late (1 or 2-stage) methods

  13. Complications • Incomplete evacuation • Haemorrhage • Cervical injury • Perforation • Adherent placenta • Infection

  14. RCOG Guideline (revised 2004)

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