Gynaecologists' attitude to abortion provision in 2015

Area of Science:

• Medical Law and Ethics
• Reproductive Health
• Gynaecology

Background:

• The 1967 Abortion Act governs abortion access in the UK.
• Understanding gynaecologists' perspectives on abortion law and practice is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess consultant gynaecologists' views on the 1967 Abortion Act.
• To explore attitudes towards women's choice, abortion decriminalisation, and sex-selective abortion requests.

Main Methods:

• A postal questionnaire was distributed to a 20% random sample of NHS gynaecologists.
• Data from 286 respondents (78% response rate) were analysed using SPSS.

Main Results:

• 60% of gynaecologists felt the 1967 Abortion Act was working satisfactorily.
• 90% believed women should decide on continuing a pregnancy in consultation with their doctor.
• 56% of respondents supported decriminalising abortion, and 97% had no requests for sex-selective abortions.

Conclusions:

• The 1967 Abortion Act is largely viewed as satisfactory by consultant gynaecologists.
• There is significant support for women's autonomy in reproductive decisions and for the decriminalisation of abortion.
• Sex selection is not a prevalent issue driving abortion requests in the UK.