Residents of England, Wales and Scotland have had access to abortion on a wide range of grounds since 1967.
The Abortion Act 1967 changed many of the rules surrounding abortion, making it possible for mothers to have an abortion more easily.
In order to qualify for an abortion, the mother must not be more than 24 weeks pregnant. There must be two registered health professionals who agree that an abortion is appropriate, and the abortion itself must be carried out by somebody qualified to do so.
Reasons for Having an Abortion
In the UK, there are several reasons whereby a woman is allowed to have an abortion.
One of the reasons for having an abortion is that it would be dangerous to the mother for her to carry on with the pregnancy. In some cases, an abortion is unpreventable as it is the only necessary route in order to ensure the safety of the mother.
Another reason for having an abortion is that the baby will be born with serious mental or physical disabilities.
In many cases, this isn’t known for sure, but there is a significant risk of it occurring.
An abortion might also be carried out because the continuation of the pregnancy would cause the mother to suffer serious mental or physical illnesses or damage.
Widening the Grounds for Abortion
Over the past few years, there have been many personalities and politicians fighting to change the laws on abortion. Some of them want to allow women who are more than 24 weeks pregnant to undergo an abortion.
In order to give mothers more choice over their pregnancies and abortions, it is very possible that the grounds for abortion will be widened in order to allow more reasons.
When Will the Grounds for Abortion be Widened?
There is likely to be a referendum in order to decide whether or not the grounds for abortion should be widened.
According to Paddy Power, it is most likely that this referendum will take place before the end of 2015. With 50/1 odds, it’s not incredibly likely, but certainly more likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Odds of 8/15 have been given to the referendum happening between the years 2016 and 2020.
The UK will still be under the same government (David Cameron and the Conservative Party) until 2020, so if Cameron is keen on having a referendum, it is likely to happen before the next election.
However, the referendum doesn’t have a set date, and it’s not even particularly clear whether or not there will soon be one. 11/8 odds are for the years after 2020 (‘Not before 2021’).
Betting on When the Referendum to Widen the Grounds of Abortion Will Take Place
You can bet on when you think a referendum on this issue might take place up until October 31st 2015 at 10pm.
The Supreme Court X case will decide on the grounds for abortion, but a nationwide referendum will have to take place first.