The College sought clarification of the role to be undertaken by nurses in abortion procedures. Lord Denning MR said: ‘when a pregnancy is terminated by medical induction, who should do the actual act of termination? Should it be done by a doctor? Or can he leave it to the nurses? The Royal College of Nursing say that a doctor should do the actual act himself and not leave it to the nurses. The Department of Health and Social Security take a different view. They say that the doctor can initiate the process and then go off and do other things, so long as he is ‘on call’.
Lord Denning MR
[1981] AC 800, [1981] 1 All ER 545
Abortion Act 1967
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom v Department of Health and Social Security HL 2-Jan-1981
The court was asked whether nurses could properly involve themselves in a pregnancy termination procedure not known when the Act was passed, and in particular, whether a pregnancy was ‘terminated by a medical practitioner’, when it was carried out . .
Cited – Greater Glasgow Health Board v Doogan and Another SC 17-Dec-2014
Roman Catholic Midwives, working as Labour Ward Co-ordinators had objected to being involved in an administrative capacity in abortions being conducted by the appellants. The Outer House had said they were not entitled to opt out, but the Inner . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Health Professions
Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.541519
