is important that women should be able to get abortions readily.
Yes, because I think that they have a right to control their own fertility. The modern means that we have for controlling fertility, apart from abortion, are firstly not entirely 1o0lDrooi-mistakcs occur Doln witt une methods as they are and in people's use of them.
Secondly, not all people realise that uney ncca to protecememse ves trom pregnancy until they have gone too far, and therefore abortion is needed as a backstop. Women need this ability to control their own fertility because they have a of control which they would otherwise have over their own fertility would restrict their rights in obtaining equality in society.
Do you see abortion as a means of contraception or as a stop-gap?
The question of the relationship between abortion and contraception as a means of controlling fertility really depends on the society you are talking about.
If you are dealing with a society where contraception has a long tradition, then most people will resort to abortion not as a contraceptive, but as a back-stop. Or alternatively they may use it as an emergency means for dealing with unfore In other societies where contraception Is not well developed thev have chosen to use abortion as the prime method of controlling conception. In this country this does not apply because we have the long association with contraception.
ANDREW WIARD (Report)
justified on 'social' grounds. Do you therefore think that it should be a woman's right to choose whether she has an abortion rather than letting the medical profession decide?
I see no reason at all for the medical profession to make this choice on behalf of WUHICHE You mentioned that you thought that the medical profession should not have anything to do with whether a woman chooses to have an abortion or not. Do you think that with the new modern techniques available for performing abortions it needs to be doctors who even carry out the operation?
Obviously the medical profession must be involved some where and there are undoubt-l Under the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act, safe legal abortions be came available to women for reasons other than severe injury to their physical or mental health, provided that two doctors would agree that the abortion was justified. Despite the reluctance or refusal of many doctors to sanction abortions for 'social' reasons, and despite the total inadequacy of NHS abortion facilities, an average of 80,000 out of the 110,000 legal abortions per year performed under the Act have been This access to safe legal abortions, although restrictive in that two doctors must agree, and limited because of inadequate NHS facilities, is now under attack. The Abortion (Amendment) Bill put forward Committee, will remove the 'social grounds for abortion and thereby cut the number of safe legal abortions by 80 per cent.
The National Abortion Campaign (NAC), set up in March of this year to fight the Bill on the basis that it should be a woman's right to choose whether or not to continue with a pregnancy, has called a national demonstration for 21 June. One of the sponsors of this demonstration is PETER HUNTINGFORD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at London University. In view of the important divisions in the medical profession on abortion - on the James White Bill and particularly over the question of 'free abortion on demand - Red Weekly asked Professor Huntingford for his views on these questions.
edly medical risks, particularly in late abortions. The medical profession should be involved in indicating what these risks are out puring tem in te perspective of the particular individual and her circumstances and her requests.
make the decision. I think that the woman has the right to decide whether she is going to take what might be a greater risk to her life in asking for a late abortion.
She still ought to be able to do that, although the doctor ought to be able to inform her accurately what those risks I do not really care whether doctors are involved or not, because the risk is less.
Do octors neea to carry out the operation? So far as the simple aspiration Ine cervix* are concerned. I think that the somebody who has had a baby and up to qualified or not.
Service?
the Act properly. to implement the Act.
the Act? early abortion.
I still do not think that the doctor should Act.
abortion policy?
in any way.
For pregnancies of less than 12 weeks techniques which do not require dilation of answer is no. This means up to ten weeks in What do you think of the present 1967 Abortion Act and the way it is operating within the National Health The 1967 Act is all we need to give women control of their own fertility. But of course an Act of Parliament does not make people change tner benaviout, and does not mak doctors behave as they should do to operate lam not convinced either that if we repealed every law relating to abortion, or at the very least made it permissible to perform abortions on request up to 12 weeks, whether we would see a greater proportion than now of those women who seek abortion having it done under the n orner wores do normank Ent problem that we have reached now-leaving aside James White's Abortion (Amendment) Bill for the moment-is one of the law noi being adequate to allow what women need, but one of the attitudes on the part of doctors and other people who are supposed What do you think would be the most dangerous aspect of the James White Bill if it succeeded in amending Ine most dangerous part is the attempt to restrict the grounds for abortion, because this would affect the greatest number of up? women. The other clauses are restrictec to a much smaller number of women and are therefore less worrying. But the attempt to restrict the grounds for abortion would particularly affect the vast majority of women who are seeking It is in their cases that the medical and tne social ones are une most outstand ing. To restrict the grounds to purely medical indications would eliminate this paracular group or women, wno accoramg to the statistics account for 60 to 70 per cent of women being aborted under the If the amendment did become law, would you be prepared to go against the law and carry out your present Yes, I do not intend to alter my practice Even if the James White Bill is defeated, what do you think are the possibilities of women obtaining free, safe, legal abortions under the NHS given the present state of the NHS and the cut-backs in expenditure that are going to continue over the next years?
of doctors' hands' 1 am a pessimist concerning that because of the reasons you give. However I will certainly continue to work for tnat end There is a lot that could be achieved in a relatively short space of time by the provision of cheap, readily available outpatient abortion services. We could satisfy the majority of the demand very easily: very quickly, with little trauma Many doctors seem to think that abortion is really a medical matter and nothing to do with Parliament at all. What do you think about the Select Committee that has been set Abortion has medical consequences but i tact it is a social problem. In this sense doctors should not have the overriding voice in deciding what is happening. This Is a queston tor tne people to decide Doctors should obviously give their expert guidance concerning risks but they should not be taking the final decision So far as the Select Committee is concerned. I have no objections to a Select Committee examining medical Acts for the sake of protecting the publi health. I take exception to this particula Select Committee because of the very hasty way that it was set up and as a com (Amendment) Bill which was then coming up for its Second Reading.
Furthermore, its composition is biased and heavily selected in favour of people who are expressly against abortion. This is not right. Although it might represent the composition of the members who voted for the Second Reading of the Bill, it certainly does not represent the women of this country.
************* *Dilation of the cervix is necessary before entering the inside of the uterus in order to evacuate the growing baby.
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1. ********* Could we ask you why you think it