Abortion Act 1967: papers of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 1538 A16
Held at	: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/library-services/archives-and-heritage/archives/ ›
Full title	: Abortion Act 1967: papers of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Date(s)	: 1964-1982
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 4 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

In 1967 a bill to legalise the medical termination of pregnancy in certain circumstances was introduced to parliament by the MP David Steel. The College was closely involved with and monitored the provisions of the bill during its progress through Parliament until its enactment.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists relating to the Abortion Act 1967 and subsequent amendments, 1964-1982, comprising the principal files of College presidents on the Abortion Act 1967 and the College's involvement in the issue of abortion, from the presidency of Sir Hector MacLennan to the first year of that of Sir Rustan Feroze, plus papers relating to a College enquiry into the first year of the 1967 Act and the College's joint study with the Royal College of General Practitioners of attitudes to pregnancy. The files contain correspondence, reports, copies of the abortion bill, legal opinions, evidence and responses of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to the Lane Committee of Inquiry, copies of Hansard, memoranda and pamphlets on abortion, press cuttings.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

The records are arranged as outlined in the scope and content.

Conditions governing access:

Correspondence and unpublished papers open 20 years after last date on file. Published material is open.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright is vested in the College, other than published material, which is in the copyright of the publisher.

Finding aids:

A general index to the files listed in the catalogue of the Archives of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is maintained in the College Archives; refer to the College Archivist.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists holds correspondence which was not removed from the main files of presidents' papers relating to the 1967 Act and later amendments (Reference: A4); Honorary secretaries' files on abortion (Reference: A7/4/3 and A7/6/7); additional records relating to the Lane committee of enquiry into the working of the 1967 Act (Reference: A3/2/3); Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists's response to a Ministry of Health enquiry into abortion dated 1938-1938 (Reference: C18); records of the RCOG working party on the unplanned pregnancy, 1969-1972 (Reference: M7); The College's record of the joint RCOG-RCGP study of attitudes to pregnancy and induced abortion, 1972-1976, (Reference: C7/2); correspondence of an Advisory Appointments Committee relating to wording of advertisements for appointments to hospitals where abortions are performed, 1977 (Reference: C21/5); records of the College's steering committee for a study into late abortion, 1981-1984 (Reference: B7E); proceedings of a postgraduate meeting to discuss a College enquiry into late abortion, 1984 (Reference: E4/32); records of the working party on termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality, 1995-1996 (Reference: M13); published College guidelines on induced abortion (Reference: P4/11 (1997), P5/7 (2000) and P5/10 (2001)).

The archives of the Abortion Law Reform Association, 1935-1983, plus some papers of the Co-ordinating Campaign for the Defence of the 1967 Abortion Act, are held at the Archives and Manuscripts Department of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

The results of the RCOG questionnaire on abortion were published in the British Medical Journal (1970), 2, pp. 529-535.

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Clare Cowling, revised by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions:
National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997; ISAD(G), Second Edition, 2000.

Date(s) of descriptions:
November 2002