Press release issued:
6 December 2022
Book your tickets now and find out more about a newly published book co-authored by Professor Sally Sheldon, Professor Gayle Davis, Dr Jane O'Neill, and Dr Clare Parker. Published by Cambridge University Press, the ‘Abortion Act 1967’ examines the complex and shifting legal and cultural meanings of this piece of legislation as it is interpreted and takes effect in practice. Ultimately, it illustrates that the Abortion Act is a 'living law'.
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.
The book draws on extensive archival research and interviews to explore 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 Abortion Act 1967: A Biography of a UK Law’ was published in November, 2022. It is authored by Professor Sally Sheldon (University of Bristol and University of Technology Sydney), Professor Gayle Davis (University of Edinburgh), Dr Jane O'Neill (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Clare Parker (University of Adelaide).
- Podcast: Professor Sheldon was recently interviewed on the University of Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies blog and podcast, Talking about Methods, about doing a biography as a piece of legislation. Listen to the podcast episode online.
- The fight for reproductive justice: For nearly a decade, researchers at the University of Bristol have sought to create new legal frameworks for the decriminalisation of abortion, challenging archaic laws. Their aim: to establish reproductive rights as universal human rights that should only be regulated by laws designed to ensure safety - and not restrict access to services. Find out more: ‘Roe v. Wade and the fight for reproductive justice’.
Further information
Professor Sally Sheldon is Professor of Law at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Sheldon's research interests are primarily in health care law and ethics and the legal regulation of gender, with a particular focus on abortion law. She has recently completed two AHRC-funded projects: ‘How Can a State Control Swallowing?’ Medical Abortion and the Law, and ‘The Abortion Act 1967: a Biography of a UK Law’ and is a member of the research team for the SACHA: Shaping Abortion for Change project. Professor Sheldon is also a co-editor of the pioneering Law in Context Series (Cambridge University Press) and a long-standing member of the editorial board of Social & Legal Studies: an International Journal.
The Centre for Health, Law, and Society (CHLS) promotes cross-disciplinary and cross-sector perspectives on the impacts of law and governance on physical, mental and social wellbeing. Based within the University of Bristol Law School, the CHLS comprises leading scholars whose work focuses on wide-ranging practical areas from within and far beyond health care systems, including clinical medicine, reproductive care, mental health, social care, and public and global health.
The Centre for Law and History Research brings together internationally-recognised expertise in the history of law over many centuries and several jurisdictions, with a variety of academic perspectives. The Centre exists to fosters excellent research in this field, individual and collaborative, and to forge links between disciplines and institutions, amongst scholars with an interest in examining law in its historical dimension.
The LLM in Health, Law, and Society: Marking a clear evolution in the field of Law and Health, this distinctive master's level degree goes beyond traditional courses on healthcare law. Looking at the relationships between law, governance, and health across society and governmental sectors, it opens up diverse career opportunities in and out of law.
Find out more about student opportunities at the Centre for Health, Law, and Society.
