Abortion, Doctors and the Law: Some Aspects of the Legal Regulation of Abortion in England from 1803 to 1982 (Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine) - Softcover

Keown, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521894131 ISBN 13: 9780521894135

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Ranging from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the 1980s, this book focuses on the evolution of the law and medical practice of abortion in England. Little academic attention has hitherto been given to the development and scope of abortion law in England, the formative influence of the medical profession, and the impact of the law on medical practice. Consequently, Dr Keown considers the performance of abortion by doctors, and the influence the medical profession had on the restriction of the law in the nineteenth century and on its relaxation in the twentieth. The book does not deal directly with the legal status of the unborn child, the rights and duties of its parents and of the doctors involved in the provision of abortion or the question of the desirability of reform. Rather, adopting a socio-legal perspective, it considers what the scope of the prohibition of abortion has been and focuses on aspects of professional influence on the evolution of that prohibition, and of professional practice thereunder.

About this title

Review:

'... excellent and timely ... thorough and dispassionate.' Legal Studies

'... a clear and illuminating work of scholarship and distinction.' Annals of Science

'... a much needed authoritative guide to the history of the law on abortion and an excellent case study in the social history of medicine.' Bulletin of the History of Medicine

Book Description:

Ranging from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the 1980s, this book focusses on the evolution of the law and medical practice of abortion in England. Dr Keown considers the performance of abortion by doctors, and the influence the medical profession had on the restriction of the law in the nineteenth century and on its relaxation in the twentieth.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0521894131
• ISBN 13: 9780521894135
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224