ABSTRACT
In Britain the law was liberalized after a fierce political campaign, but women were not given the right to choose an abortion. Along the way towards legalization, four groups of factors have been particularly relevant: concern for women's health, the general climate of opinion, the relative strength of the pressure groups, and the composition of the House of Commons. The proponents of change had to make a crucial decision as to whether to aim for the total repeal of the abortion law up to a specified time in the pregnancy, or simply to reform the law by increasing the categories of women eligible for abortion. A major argument of the advocates of reform was that there were many illegal abortions each year, often performed in dangerous circumstances and with great risk to the woman. The main effect of legalization would be to transfer these from the illegal to the legal sector.
