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- The Abortion Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom legalising abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulating the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS). It was introduced by David Steel as a Private Member's Bill, but was backed by the government, who appointed the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Sir John Peel, to chair a medical advisory committee that reported in favour of passing the bill. After a further heated political and moral debate, under a free vote, it was passed on 27 October 1967, coming into effect on 27 April 1968. The Act made abortion legal on a wide number of grounds in all of Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) up to 28 weeks' gestation. The Act does not extend to Northern Ireland, where abortion was illegal unless the doctor acted "only to save the life of the mother", or if continuing the pregnancy would have resulted in the pregnant woman becoming a "physical or mental wreck". The situation was the same as it was in England before the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967. At midnight, on 21 October 2019, due to the Northern Ireland Assembly failing to restore devolution, sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 were repealed, decriminalising abortion. As such, there is no need for the exemptions in the Abortion Act 1967 to extend to Northern Ireland. (en)
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