Abortion is an emotionally explosive subject. The aim of this account is to make a contribution to counteract inadequate knowledge in the ill-documented field of abortion policy and practice. The subject has been treated as objectively and dispassionately as possible. This account describes the total abortion experience in a relatively homogeneous and static population (Aberdeen and its environs) where pregnancies have been terminated for many years. This study involves a variety of disciplines including obstetrics, gynaecology, psychiatry and sociology. The research techniques used and the results of the investigations are described and evaluated. Although this volume inevitably is specific in its place and time and in that sense is unique because it provides information about trends in abortion requests, acceptances, refusal rates and decision criteria it has a concreteness that makes this study a paradigm to be used in studies of abortion elsewhere.