The Abortion Act (1967): a Biography

This project offers a fundamental re-evaluation of the Abortion Act (1967). It will trace the Act's changing interpretation and impact in each of the countries of the UK and offer a sustained consideration of the merits of a biographical approach to the study of law.

On 27 April 2018, the British Abortion Act will have been in force for fifty years. While the Act is often said to have survived largely unaltered since its introduction, this claim ignores very significant shifts in the way in which it has been perceived, interpreted and applied in practice, with noteworthy variation in implementation discernible both across time and national borders within the UK. This project traces the Act's gestation in the reform movements and parliamentary debates of the 1960s, its birth at the height of the 'sexual revolution' in April 1968, and the fierce contestation that dogged its formative first two decades, through to its achievement of full maturity and its current, venerable position as one of the very oldest extant pieces of statute to govern modern medical practice. The project takes seriously the idea of 'living law', offering a detailed analysis of how the same legislative text can impact very differently across both time and space. The research will draw on hitherto under-utilised and unutilised archival resources (some of which have only recently come into the public domain), with the aim of analysing how the 'life story' of the Abortion Act has developed. The Act has clearly lived through interesting times and, in line with the best biographies, this account will aim also to offer a window onto the seismic broader changes that have occurred since 1967. In this sense, the story of the Abortion Act is also the story of significant evolution in ideas of gender and family; fundamental changes in the NHS; radical developments in abortion technologies and the ethical values that inform modern medicine; important shifts in demographics (including patterns of fertility and religious affiliation); and ongoing negotiation of the UK constitutional settlement.

In tracing competing narratives regarding the Act, we will focus on five key sites of contestation. While specific disputes have sometimes attracted scholarly attention, the approach of tracking each theme across five decades will permit close, original analysis of how conflict regarding these issues has been shaped in different ways by broader social and institutional factors at different moments. Our major focuses will be: a) clinical discretion, service providers and the 'abortion industry'; b) the role of counselling and information giving; c) concerns regarding the appropriate treatment of the fetus; d) the 'type' of women who access services; and e) political protest and campaigning. We will also pay particular attention to the important yet often ignored role that newspaper 'sting operations' have played in shaping regulation and practice in this area, tracing at least two 'stings' through the initial media storm, parliamentary questions, reform bills, legal actions, impact on guidance and regulation, subsequent media (re)assessment, and any short or long term chilling effect on medical practice.

The project will draw on extensive library and archival work, supplemented by up to twenty oral histories. It will result in six substantial articles targeting audiences in law, history, sociology and gender studies (with five articles each addressing one of the themes noted above, and the sixth assessing the merits of a biographical approach to law); a co-authored monograph; teaching resources for use in secondary schools; and shorter pieces aimed at a range of non-academic audiences. A final, important output will be an online exhibition, bringing together images, the voices of those most closely involved with the law, key texts from the Act's life, and links to further resources. This will be launched at Parliament on the Act's fiftieth birthday.

The project will provoke significant interest from a wide range of non-academic research user groups, with the website key to reaching them. It will host a virtual exhibition to be launched in a well-publicised event at the Houses of Parliament, timed to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Act. Journalists and key individuals from each of the groups noted below will be invited to the launch event, thus increasing awareness of the research. The research team will also draw on their own strong networks and those of the Advisory Group to publicise the project.

1) Parliamentarians, civil servants and lawyers in each of the four countries of the UK

How the Abortion Act is implemented in practice has been a matter of ongoing, lively interest within Parliament (as evidenced by frequent parliamentary questions about its operation, and repeated attempts at reform) and within Government, where the Department of Health has a designated team, charged with overseeing the law's effective functioning. Courts and lawyers charged with interpreting such regulation are equally likely to be interested in the research. These groups will also have significant broader interest in a detailed study of how the same statute can impact differently in the different nations of the UK; the role of sting operations in shaping practice and regulation; and the role of abortion in debates regarding devolution. They will be reached by the website, contributions to the History and Policy site, and other short publications aimed at practitioner audiences.

2) Abortion service providers, professional medical bodies, and health care professionals

These actors are at the heart of the Abortion Act's life story and are certain to be interested in better understanding how implementation and interpretation of it has evolved. They will be targeted by publications in the e-newsletter, Reproductive Review, which is widely read by service providers, policy-makers and interested academics; seminars for BPAS and MSI staff (who, between them, provide well over half of the abortions in the UK); and a presentation at the main international service provider conference, FIAPAC.

3) Teachers and school children

Abortion is a topic of lively interest amongst young people, commonly finding its way into the classroom as a debate regarding the rights and wrongs of abortion. The current project would offer teachers a new way of approaching the subject, helping to avoid the sometimes confrontational approach of an ethical debate (and potential marginalisation of children with minority views). Resources packs would be professionally designed for secondary age groups, taking account of the requirements of different national curricula, and made available in hard copy and for download.

4) The general public and amateur historians

Strong popular interest is invariably aroused by discussion of any aspect of abortion, making it easy to secure the interest of journalists and broadcasters. Woman's Hour (where the PI and PDR1 have disseminated earlier research) will be approached with a proposal for a special issue to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Act; other Radio 4 programmes, such as Thinking Allowed and Taking the Long View, will also be offered segments and, in our experience, invitations to speak on local BBC radio and the world service will follow from these appearances. Further, at least three articles will be written for broadsheet newspapers. Finally, the website will offer a significant online exhibition with high quality images, sound clips, and accessible text. These will be accompanied by suggestions for further reading and links to other resources and archives, thus creating pathways for anyone interested in accessing further resources. Targeted use of social media and media coverage will help to ensure good awareness of the research, with these interventions also highlighting the existence of the website.