abortifacients- herbs and potions designed to induce miscarriage- were widely, if discreetly advertised, and methods of inducing abortion such as drinking gin or taking a very hot bath, were open secrets. In 1967, the Abortion Act, introduced by the MP David Steel, sought to allow abortions in limited circumstances, such as when a mother's physical or mental health would be endangered by continuing with the pregnancy. The Act limited the time in which mothers could abort their foetus to 24 weeks- then generally regarded as the earliest time a foetus could survive outside the womb. Recent revisions to the Act have brought this time limit down to 20 weeks, modern science having increased the chances of a foetus born at 20 weeks surviving. Discussion of abortion inevitably touches on other related topics, such as overpopulation, contraception and religion. The Catholic church, for example, explicitly opposes abortion because, as a Catholic catechism has it, "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life." For this reason, the Catholic church opposes euthanasia also. At times, this has caused controversy; in 2012 a Hindu woman died at Galway University Hospital in Ireland when she was refused an abortion, prompting debate about the abortion law in the country." />

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