Statutory Instrument 1980 No.1724 Medical Profession The Abortion (Amendment) Regulations 1980

Papers relating to the Abortion (Amendment) Regulations 26 Nov 1980 which came into operation in Mar 1981. The Statutory Instrument changed the length and questions in the notification form (SHA 4) which doctors were required to complete for each abortion carried out. Co-ord members objected to the new form, which required the doctor to specify the grounds on which the abortion was performed (i.e. medical), thereby omitting the old social circumstances clause. The new form also asked for detailed information about the woman and the type of abortion performed. Despite vigorous protests by various member organisations of Co-ord the Statutory Instrument was passed. Protests continued into 1982, with some doctors brought before the law for refusing to fill in the forms, such as Professor Peter Huntingford, obstetrician and gynaeocologist.

File includes correspondence of Co-ord with the DHSS, Co-ord minutes of meetings, briefings to members, Diane Munday's correspondence with the DHSS, photocopies of the SI 1724 and the version for Scotland 1864(S.169), corespondence and papers of Co-ord, National Abortion Campaign, BPAS, Family Planning Association, Parliamentary Questions and Population References Information Service extracts (from Hansard), press cuttings.

1980-1982

1 file (in 2 parts)