What Happens When Abortion is Legalised?

Professor Liley has correctly noted that there is an immediate escalation in abortions but his statement that 'there is no limit to the level that the abortion rate can reach' is not borne out by the experience of countries such as Czechoslovakia and Hungary where (unlike Sweden liberal laws have been in effect for more than ten years. In both these countries there was a sharp rise in the first three to five years of the law, followed by a flattening out, so that the rate is now fairly stable (11). Further, simultaneous public education on birth control can reduce the rise even more. Thus, in Japan, the rate of legal abortion per 1,000 live births has declined from 717 in 1957 to 387 in 1967 (1).

The strain on health services produced by the rise in abortions after legalisation is a potential problem, but the development of new, simple and safe techniques done on an outpatient basis has enabled cities like New York to cope without difficulty.