A new opinion poll shows that the majority of people believe the legislation governing abortion should be changed.
The poll, which was commissioned by campaigning group Abortion Rights, found that 52% agreed that the law should be altered so that a woman no longer has to get permission from two doctors in order to have a termination.
Some 83% of those questioned said they believed women should have the right to decide to have an abortion, with only 13% disagreeing.
Abortion has been legal in Britain for 40 years, after the Abortion Act came into force in 1967.
Commenting on the results of the poll, Anne Quesney, Abortion Rights director, said: “Forty years ago we were on the eve of a vote, which would transform women’s lives.
“The 1967 Act ended decades of dangerous back-street abortions and saved the lives and health of thousands of women in Britain.
“Forty years of safe, legal abortion in Britain is something to celebrate.
“But the majority of the public clearly feels that the legislation is now out of date.
“It is time for a law that trusts women to make the abortion decision and remove the need for two doctors’ permission to access the procedure – a process that can lead to delays for women at a difficult time.”
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