# Abortion Act 1967

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Date of Commencement: 27 April 1968 (s. 7(2)) See this legislation with any revisons at legislation.gov.uk .
For corresponding provisions in Hong Kong law, see section 47A of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) as inserted by the Offences against the Person (Amendment) Ordinance 1972 (15 of 1972). For corresponding provisions effective in Northern Ireland, see the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/503)
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ELIZABETH II
1967 CHAPTER 87
An Act to amend and clarify the law relating to termination of pregnancy by registered medical practitioners.[27th October 1967]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Medical termination of pregnancy. 1.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall not be guilty of an offence under the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith—
    (a) that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, or of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or
    (b) that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.
(2) In determining whether the continuance of a pregnancy would involve such risk of injury to health as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, account may be taken of the pregnant woman's actual or reasonably foreseeable environment.
(3) Except as provided by subsection (4) of this section, any treatment for the termination of pregnancy must be carried out in a hospital vested in the Minister of Health or the Secretary of State under the National Health Service Acts, or in a place for the time being approved for the purposes of this section by the said Minister or the Secretary of State.
​(4) Subsection (3) of this section, and so much of subsection (1) as relates to the opinion of two registered medical practitioners, shall not apply to the termination of a pregnancy by a registered medical practitioner in a case where he is of the opinion, formed in good faith, that the termination is immediately necessary to save the life or to prevent grave, permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
Notification. 2.—(1) The Minister of Health in respect of England and Wales, and the Secretary of State in respect of Scotland, shall by statutory instrument make regulations to provide—
    (a) for requiring any such opinion as is referred to in section 1 of this Act to be certified by the practitioners or practitioner concerned in such form and at such time as may be prescribed by the regulations, and for requiring the preservation and disposal of certificates made for the purposes of the regulations;
    (b) for requiring any registered medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy to give notice of the termination and such other information relating to the termination as may be so prescribed;
    (c) for prohibiting the disclosure, except to such persons or for such purposes as may be so prescribed, of notices given or information furnished pursuant to the regulations.
(2) The information furnished in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall be notified solely to the Chief Medical Officers of the Ministry of Health and the Scottish Home and Health Department respectively.
(3) Any person who wilfully contravenes or wilfully fails to comply with the requirements of regulations under subsection (1) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.
(4) Any statutory instrument made by virtue of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
Application of Act to visiting forces etc. 3.—(1) In relation to the termination of a pregnancy in a case where the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say—
    (a) the treatment for termination of the pregnancy was carried out in a hospital controlled by the proper authorities of a body to which this section applies; and
    (b) the pregnant woman had at the time of the treatment a relevant association with that body; and
    (c) the treatment was carried out by a registered medical practitioner or a person who at the time of the treatment ​was a member of that body appointed as a medical practitioner for that body by the proper authorities of that body,
this Act shall have effect as if any reference in section 1 to a registered medical practitioner and to a hospital vested in a Minister under the National Health Service Acts included respectively a reference to such a person as is mentioned in paragraph (c) of this subsection and to a hospital controlled as aforesaid, and as if section 2 were omitted.
(2) The bodies to which this section applies are any force which is a visiting force within the meaning of any of the provisions of Part I of the 1952 c. 67.Visiting Forces Act 1952 and any headquarters within the meaning of the Schedule to the 1964 c. 5.International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964; and for the purposes of this section—
    (a) a woman shall be treated as having a relevant association at any time with a body to which this section applies if at that time—
       (i) in the case of such a force as aforesaid, she had a relevant association within the meaning of the said Part I with the force; and
       (ii) in the case of such a headquarters as aforesaid, she was a member of the headquarters or a dependant within the meaning of the Schedule aforesaid of such a member; and
    (b) any reference to a member of a body to which this section applies shall be construed—
       (i) in the case of such a force as aforesaid, as a reference to a member of or a civilian component of that force within the meaning of the said Part I; and
       (ii) in the case of such a headquarters as aforesaid, as a reference to a member of that headquarters within the meaning of the Schedule aforesaid.
Conscientious objection to participation in treatment. 4.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, no person shall be under any duty, whether by contract or by any statutory or other legal requirement, to participate in any treatment authorised by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection:
Provided that in any legal proceedings the burden of proof of conscientious objection shall rest on the person claiming to rely on it.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall affect any duty to participate in treatment which is necessary to save the life or to prevent grave permanent injury to physical or mental health of a pregnant woman.
​(3) In any proceedings before a court in Scotland, a statement on oath by any person to the effect that he has a conscientious objection to participating in any treatment authorised by this Act shall be sufficient evidence for the purpose of discharging the burden of proof imposed upon him by subsection (1) of this section.
Supplementary provisions. 1929 c. 34. 5.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect the provisions of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 (protecting the life of the viable foetus).
(2) For the purposes of the law relating to abortion, anything done with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman is unlawfully done unless authorised by section 1 of this Act.
Interpretation. 6. In this Act, the following expressions have meanings hereby assigned to them:—
“law relating to abortion” means sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, and any rule of law relating to the procurement of abortion;
“the National Health Service Acts” means the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1966 or the National Health Service (Scotland) Acts 1947 to 1966.
Short title, commencement and extent. 7.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Abortion Act 1967.
(2) This Act shall come into force on the expiration of the period of six months beginning with the date on which it is passed.
(3) This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.
This work is in the public domain worldwide because it is one of the following types of legislation in the United Kingdom or its predecessor states, and received Royal Assent or the approval of HM in Council (as applicable) before 1975:
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* Act of the Scottish Parliament
* Measure of the National Assembly for Wales
* Act of Senedd Cymru (formerly known as an Act of the National Assembly for Wales)
* Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly
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