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Why is it necessary? of Abortion

The reasons that an abortion may be necessary are set out in the Abortion Act 1967 (1). These are:

• continuing with the pregnancy would be a greater risk to the woman’s life than would ending the pregnancy,
• continuing with the pregnancy would involve a greater risk of injury to the woman’s physical or mental health than would ending the pregnancy,
• continuing with the pregnancy would be more of a risk to the physical or mental health of any of the woman’s existing children, or
• there is a real risk that the child, if born, would have a serious physical or mental disability.

In practice, this gives doctors a great degree of flexibility in referring women for abortions.

However, making the decision to have an abortion is a personal choice for the woman concerned. Sometimes this may be a very difficult choice, influenced by social, economic and emotional factors. Because of this, wide variety of counseling, information and advice services are available to help women to make the most appropriate decision for them.

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