The Abortion Act 1967: a Promise Fulfilled?

The Abortion Act was passed on 27 October 1967, at the vanguard of a wave of liberalising change across the western world and directly inspiring reform in a number of other countries. This two-day conference takes place in the week of the fiftieth anniversary, at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, London. The Abortion Act 1967 (The Act) represented the fulfilment of over thirty years of sustained campaigning by the Abortion Law Reform Association, reflecting a liberalising reform agenda that sought to promote public health and address social inequality. At the same time, the Act was embedded in extant nineteenth-century criminal law responses to abortion, and was shaped by a medical model for its management. The Conference is sponsored by the Wellcome Trust. The conference will take place on 24-25 October 2017.