Abortion legislation: exploring perspectives of general practitioners and obstetrics and gynaecology clinicians

Abortion legislation remains a contentious topic in the UK, which receives much attention from politicians, clinicians and professional bodies alike. In this study, the perspectives of general practitioners and obstetrics and gynaecology clinicians on the Abortion Act 1967 was explored. To this end, a short electronic questionnaire was distributed to all 211 GP and obstetrics and gynaecology clinicians affiliated with the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine. Of the 100 anonymous responses collected, a significant majority felt that abortion law in Northern Ireland should be changed in line with the rest of the UK. The respondents' votes, however, were either opposed to or divided over any other changes to the Abortion Act, including altering the 24 week time limit, clarifying the legal definition of fetal abnormalities, introducing abortion purely on the woman's request, and modifying the requirement for two clinicians to approve any request for abortion. These perspectives were not entirely aligned with the recommendations of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, or with current medical evidence and demographic data.