Women fought for abortion rights. Fifty years on, the service is in crisis | Tim Friend

The NHS has been outsourcing the procedure and failing to train specialist staff. Now hundreds of women can’t get an abortion, putting their lives at risk

Half a century after abortion was made legal in England, Scotland and Wales, outsourcing of NHS services and a subsequent lack of specialist doctors mean that hundreds of women each year are prevented from having an abortion, sometimes seriously threatening their health, according to leading medics.

“The system is broken. It’s in crisis. Not fit for purpose,” says professor Lesley Regan, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

Related: Northern Irish women offered free abortion services in England

Related: Make access to abortion easier, UK's top gynaecologist demands

Continue reading... October 24, 2017 at 12:00PM