Book Launch: The Abortion Act: a Biography of a UK Law

8 December 2022, 4.30 PM - 8 December 2022, 6.00 PM

online

You are warmly invited to attend a launch of this new book, hosted by the Centre for Health, Law, and Society and the Centre for Law and History Research.

The Abortion Act 1967 may be the most contested law in UK history, sitting on a fault line between the shifting tectonic plates of a rapidly transforming society. While it has survived repeated calls for its reform, with its text barely altered for over five decades, women's experiences of accessing abortion services under it have evolved considerably. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews, this book explores how the Abortion Act was given meaning by a diverse cast of actors including women seeking access to services, doctors and service providers, campaigners, judges, lawyers, and policy makers. By adopting an innovative biographical approach to the law, the book shows that the Abortion Act is a 'living law'. Using this historically grounded socio-legal approach, this enlightening book demonstrates how the Abortion Act both shaped and was shaped by a constantly changing society.

The event will hear from the book's authors and four respondents.

Authors:

Respondents:

There will also be time for questions and discussions.

Contact information

Register in Eventbrite. Any queries contact Mei Mei Cheung via law-research-exec@bristol.ac.uk.

Book cover The Abortion Act: a Biography of a UK Law

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