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A 4D scan of a 24-week-old baby in the womb. (Requires Flash 7+).
Introduction
27 October 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of Parliament passing the Abortion Act, which legalised abortion. The law came into force on 27 April 1968.
In 1966, when Parliament was debating the Bill, David Steel (then an MP and an architect of the abortion law) said: "[It is] not the intention of the promoters of the Bill to leave a wide open door for abortion on request."1
Yet since the Act became law, 6.7 million abortions have been carried out in Great Britain - 98% of which were for 'social' reasons.
David Steel, now Lord Steel, has told The Guardian 
that abortion is being used as a form of contraception in Britain and admits he never anticipated "anything like" the current number of terminations when leading the campaign to legalise abortion.2
The current law
In England, Scotland and Wales, abortion is allowed up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The consent of two doctors is required.
Abortion up to birth is lawful when the mother's life is at risk, or where the unborn child has a serious handicap (however, 'serious handicap' has been taken to include an abnormality such as a cleft palate).
Abortion is unlawful in Northern Ireland, except for where the mother's life is at risk.