Legal interpretation of the Abortion Act 1967: the role of nurses in surgical induced abortion.

©FFPRHC J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2007: 33(2) Background The review by Argent and Pavey1 in this issue of the Journal analyses the Abortion Act 1967 and subsequent case law and concludes that health professionals, not just registered medical practitioners, can legally perform surgical abortion under certain conditions. The health professionals should be suitably trained and be under the direction of a registered medical practitioner, who may not need to be physically present throughout the procedure. Like many other procedures, legal abortion care is currently provided by a team that includes both nurses and doctors. Of course, we still need the best possible access to and provision of contraception, and especially an increase in the use of long-acting methods, to try and prevent the need for abortion. Increased openness about discussing sexual feelings and activity with early, gradual and repeated information requires a social, not just a medical, change. But the need for abortion will not disappear in the near future. No-one is perfect, nor are contraceptives infallible. The proposal here is not about the rights and wrongs of abortion. It is not about changing the present Abortion Act. It is about the legal interpretation of the Abortion Act, which clarified the situations in which pregnancies might be ended. The Abortion Act 1967 also provides protection from prosecution for those who terminate pregnancies under its regulation. The Act restricts the availability of abortion to premises licensed for the purpose, controls access by imposing the agreement of two doctors to the procedure, and requires procedures to be carried out under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner. The Act was extremely successful in making the procedure much safer.