Abortion Access and the Benefits and Limitations of Abortion-Permissive Legal Frameworks: Lessons from the United Kingdom

Romanis, Elizabeth Chloe

Abstract

This paper argues that abortion access is an important subject for bioethics scholarship and reflects on the relationship between legal frameworks and access to care. The author uses the example of the United Kingdom to examine the benefits and limitations of abortion-permissive legal frameworks in terms of access. These are legal frameworks that enable the provision of abortion but subject to restrictions. An abortion-permissive regime—first in Great Britain and then in Northern Ireland—has gone some way to improving access to care over time. However, aspects of the regime (that lead to its description as permissive rather than supportive of abortion) have the potential to endanger abortion access in the future and so legal reform is necessary.

Citation

Romanis, E. C. (2023). Abortion Access and the Benefits and Limitations of Abortion-Permissive Legal Frameworks: Lessons from the United Kingdom. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 32(3), 378-390. https://doi.org/10.1017/s096318012200086x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 23, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-07
• Deposit Date: Apr 13, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 24, 2023
• Journal: Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
• Print ISSN: 0963-1801
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-2147
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 378-390
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s096318012200086x
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1177321