Useful Links
National
Providers
British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS)
Established as a registered charity in 1968, BPAS are the leading specialists of abortion advice and treatment in the UK, taking care of almost 80,000 women each year in over 70 reproductive healthcare clinics nationwide.
MSI Reproductive Choices
An international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries worldwide (previously named Marie Stopes International until November 2020).
National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS)
NUPAS was established over 30 years ago and has since expanded nationwide, opening clinics around the UK, making abortion services more easily accessible. All clinics offer dedicated help and support to both NHS and private clients requiring abortion treatments, contraception, family planning and sexual health advice and care for men and women.
Patient Information/Support
Antenatal Results and Choices
Support for parents during antenatal testing.
Brook
Free and confidential advice for young people (under 25 years) regarding sexual health.
FPA (formerly Family Planning Association)
Advice website on sexual health, contraception, abortion and relationships.
Abortion Talk
Abortion Talk is a new charity offering both patients and providers the opportunity to talk about abortion. The charity seeks to challenge the negative impact stigma can have on those who have had or are considering having an abortion as well as those who provide abortions. The charity’s aim is to offer safe, non-judgemental spaces to talk, a support line for one-to-one conversations, and workshops for groups.
‘My Body My Life’
‘My Body My Life’ is a public engagement project that seeks to address this stigma around abortion by bringing real stories of abortion into the open. On the website, visitors can read people’s stories of abortion in their own words. Originally collected as part of Open University (OU) research into women’s experiences of abortion, this research has grown into a broad public engagement project co-led by OU and the University of Oxford that now includes the website, a (pre-Covid-19) travelling multi-media exhibition and a booklet of abortion stories that is available at BPAS clinics across the country.
Professional Bodies
Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH)
A faculty of the RCOG specialising in sexual and reproductive healthcare.
Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)
The RCGP is the professional membership body and guardian of standards for family doctors in the UK, working to promote excellence in primary healthcare.
Royal College of Midwives (RCM)
The professional association for midwives.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
The RCN promotes excellence in nursing care.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
The RCOG is dedicated to the encouragement of the study and the advancement of the science and practice of obstetrics and gynaecology.
Regulatory
England: Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Scotland: Care Inspectorate
Wales: Care Inspectorate Wales
Northern Ireland: Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority
Data
England and Wales abortion statistics
Northern Ireland abortion statistics
Ireland abortion statistics 2019 [inaugural report]
Jersey abortion statistics 2022
Isle of Man statistics 2020/2021
Law
Documents pertaining to COVID-19 temporary measures for England, Wales and Scotland
The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 [legislation in effect from 1 April 2020]
Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law 1997
Isle of Man Abortion Reform Act 2019
Gibraltar – Crimes Act 2011 sections 162 and 163
Advocacy
Abortion Rights
National pro-choice campaign, leading the drive to bring the British abortion law into line with public opinion, so that women can make their own reproductive decisions without the current unfair obstructions.
Alliance for Choice
Campaigns for the extension of the Abortion Act 1967 in Northern Ireland.
Doctors for Choice UK
Group of UK-based doctors and medical students whose purpose is to of promote comprehensive, evidence-based reproductive healthcare including safe and timely abortion and support and campaign for decriminalisation of abortion in the UK.
Research
The BPAS Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication (CRRC) exists to develop and deliver a research agenda that furthers access to evidence-based reproductive healthcare and choices. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. We draw directly on BPAS’ own work as a reproductive health provider to inform our agenda and work in collaboration and through strategic partnerships to achieve our mission.
The SACHA (Shaping Abortion for Change) Study is the largest research project on abortion to be carried out to date in the UK. More than 20 researchers from seven countries have come together forming the SACHA Consortium.
The Sexuality and Abortion Stigma Study (SASS) re-examines data from a decade of studies on abortion in the UK. Drawing on the accounts of women, providers, and educators, it addresses abortion stigma, and considers how to move the conversation on from stigma to normalisation, both in academic and in more everyday terms.
International
Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH)
ANSIRH works to ensure that reproductive health care and policy are grounded in evidence. ANSIRH’s multidisciplinary team includes clinicians, researchers and scholars in the fields of sociology, demography, anthropology, medicine, nursing, public health, and law.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
The US professional association for obstetricians and gynaecologists.
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)
Center for Reproductive Rights
European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESCRH)
FIAPAC
FIAPAC is the International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraception Associates. Founded in 1997 with the aim of providing a platform for all practical and ethical aspects of unwanted pregnancy and abortion.
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)
International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma (INROADS)
International Planned Parenthood Federation
IPPF links national autonomous Family Planning Associations (FPAs) in over 180 countries worldwide.
IPAS (Website in English and Spanish)
IPAS is an international organisation that works around the world to increase women’s ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries.
Misoprostol in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Website promoting the safe use of misoprostol in obstetrics and gynaecology.
MSI Reproductive Choices [formerly Marie Stopes International (MSI)]
Not-for-profit/independent abortion and sexual health provider in 43 countries worldwide.
National Abortion Federation
Professional association of abortion providers in the USA and Canada.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) ‘Making Abortion Safe’ Initiative
In 2020, the RCOG embarked on a 3-year programme working to increase healthcare professionals’ capacity to address the barriers to safe abortion and/or post-abortion care for women and girls globally. In 2021, they are conducting a Provider Stigma Survey in an effort to understand more about abortion-related stigma, and assist them in producing resources to improve support for abortion care providers. More about the programme.
Safe Access
SafeAccess Hub’s founding partners – MSI Reproductive Choices, International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF), PSI, Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF), Ipas – plus 14 other organisations including Ibis Reproductive Health, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), www.womenonwaves.org, womenonweb.org, Gynuity Health Projects and the Guttmacher Institute – joined together to launch the SafeAccess Hub, a digital platform sharing best practice guidance on safe abortion and post-abortion care for frontline providers and policymakers.
World Health Organisation (WHO)
Law
Abortion law of jurisdictions around the world
Advocacy
International Consortium for Medical Abortion
The International Consortium for Medical Abortion (ICMA) has brought together key players in the field, including advocates, service providers, policymakers and researchers from all regions of the world since 2002 to produce and disseminate information on medical abortion which is relevant to and focused on the needs of women in developing countries and countries in transition.
International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion
This organisation believes in and advocates for safe and legal abortion as a woman’s human right.
Women must be able to take decisions about their own bodies and healthcare free from coercion: this includes the decision to carry a pregnancy to term or seek an abortion. No woman should be obliged to continue an unwanted pregnancy.
Medical Students for Choice
A non-profit organisation with a successful track record for change, Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) stands up in the face of violent opposition. They work to destigmatize abortion provision among medical students and residents, and to persuade medical schools and residency programmes to include abortion as a part of the reproductive health services curriculum.
Prochoice Forum
Social, legal and ethical aspects of abortion.
Women on Web
Women on Web is a digital community of women who have had abortions and individuals and organisations that support abortion rights.
Women on Waves
Women on Waves is a non-profit organisation concerned with women’s human rights. Its mission is to prevent unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions throughout the world. Women on Waves sails to countries where abortion is illegal. With the use of a ship, early medical abortions can be provided safely, professionally and legally. Women on Waves aims to prevent unsafe abortions and empower women to exercise their human rights to physical and mental autonomy, by combining free healthcare services and sexual education with advocacy.
WGNRR (Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights)
WGNRR is an autonomous, feminist and grassroots network of groups and individuals from every continent that aims to achieve and support reproductive and sexual health rights for women everywhere. Basic human rights enable women to have safe,responsible and fulfilling sex lives and the self-determination to freely decide if, when and how often to have children, free from coercion, discrimination and violence. This includes the right of access to safe, legal abortion.
News
Current and past news about abortion rights worldwide. Website operated by the Initiative for Reproductive Health Information (IRHI)/Initiative zur Information über Reproduktive Gesundheit. Newsfeed sign-up available.