Papers relating to the Paton Case: Paton v Paton and Paton v British Pregancy Advisory Service

Papers relating to the Paton Case: Paton v Paton and Paton v British Pregancy Advisory Service. Photocopies of various legal docuements and judicial decisions in the cases; Diane Munday's correspondence with members of the public and organisations pro and anti abortion (including some 'hate' letters from pro-lifers); press cuttings indicating how it was reported in the press; photocopies of New Law Journal articles; papers relating to complaint to the charity commission against the BPAS arguing for it to be struck off the charity list; document by Glenys Day 'Abortion: The Question of Spousal Consent' (1978)

These seem to have been collated by Diane Munday and are not necessarily Co-ord papers.

The case focussed on the power of husband to prevent wife having a legal abortion, the wife obtaining necessary medical certificates for legal abortion, wife wanting abortion, husband applying for injunction to stop her having abortion - Whether injunction could be granted - Abortion Act 1967, s1.

File 3 originally tiled "Paton / Spring: complaint to Charity Commission (see "humanity" file for more about Spring).

1976-1979

1 file (in 3 parts)

A wife, who had conceived a child by her husband, was concerned about her pregnancy. She went, on her own, to see two registered medical practitioners about it. They were of the opinion, formed in good faith, that the continuance of her pregnancy would involve risk of injury to her physical or mental health. They issued the necessary certificates so that her pregnancy could, by virtue of s1 of the Abortion Act 1967, be lawfully terminated. She wanted to have the abortion but her husband, who had not been consulted either by her or by the medical practitioners before the certificates were issued, did not want her to have one. He claimed that he had a right to have a say in the destiny of the child and applied to the court for an injunction restraining her from causing or permitting an abortion to be carried out on her without his consent.