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SummaryThe evidence from gynaecologists in Northern Ireland shows confusion in interpretation and practice of abortion law, with some women even being denied abortion after rape. Over two-thirds of gynaecologists supported a change in the law which would leave the abortion decision to the woman and her doctor, but less than half wanted the introduction of the British law.

SummaryThis article discusses the conflicting positions on the effectiveness of sex education and availability of birth control facilities in lowering the rate of teenage pregnancies. It provides evidence of a drop in the rate of teenage births only one-third of which can be accounted for by the rise in abortions. It concludes that teenagers must have been using birth control more effectively than in the early 1970s.

The intensity of opposition to legal abortion in the US is described, & reasons behind the movement to repeal abortion reforms are analyzed & compared to reform movements in GB. The radical climate of the late 1960s & early 1970s favored liberalization of abortion statutes in the US, as did the attitudes of US MDs & influential Catholics. The progress of abortion reforms in GB was more moderate, a situation caused by the limited power of interpretation of English courts, the greater restrictions on clinical practice in GB, & the greater tendency toward traditionalism among British MDs. However, the increasing strength of conservative politics in the US in the late 1970s was reflected in the increased strength & organization of antiabortion sentiments, & in the movement to press for a Constitutional amendment supported by "right to life" & other antiabortion groups. D. Dunseath.

SummaryThis article considers the methods used to estimate the number of abortions before the 1967 Abortion Act came into operation. It suggests that the registration of legal abortions has enabled a new method to be used to calculate the number of illegal operations. The article concludes that the major effect of the Act was to transfer abortions from the illegal to the legal sector and, using the new method of calculation, estimates a total number of abortions immediately before the Act of just over 100,000 a year.

SummaryThis article considers the birth control experience of 800 patients for abortion in the United States and makes comparison with British data. The results uncover some cultural factors associated with non-use of contraception. Some suggestions are made as to social changes that would be desirable to reduce the abortion rate.

SummaryThe rise in Caesarian section rates has been much greater in the United States than in Britain. This article analyses the reasons for these trends and finds they are not clearly related to good medical practice. It is concluded that it should be a cause for concern if rates rise above 6% of live births. In this case operations must be shown to be in the best interests of the mothers and their babies.