Was a horrifying, alities were high

lure due to damage to the er. And a tragic woman oped a massive sac of pus he peritoneum. We tried drain it but pus oozed m her abdomen.

But when a woman came us with complications, never asked what had ened because if a doctor out, he would have to he police. But by shielding , we were also shielding whom most of us would d bars. It was a dilemma. reatment was illegal, they They performed a service sed. It was not their fault cally untrained – the lame.” The message from Call the Midwife is clear – backstreet abortions were dangerous and life-threatening, but so were the laws that forced women to take such drastic measures. Even though abortion has been legal in the UK, under certain circumstances, since 1967, a woman has to have the permission of two doctors to have the procedure.

It is still governed by the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which criminalised abortion and threatened women with life imprisonment for ending a pregnancy.

So a woman buying abortion pills online without the permission of two doctors could potentially face prosecution. In Northern Ireland abortion is still illegal, in most circumstances, meaning women are forced to travel to England if they want to terminate a pregnancy.

Just last year, abortion was made legal in the Republic during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy or later if the woman’s health is at risk.

“We have won a lot of battles,” says Diane. “But there is still a lot to do. The 1967 Abortion Act is totally out of date with women’s rights and the technology to bring abortion about. “If we are going to get that changed, women are going to have to speak out.”