The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) guideline on The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion was first published in 2000. An updated version followed in 2004. The 2004 version served until this revision, which took place during 2010 and 2011. The revision was prompted mainly by a recommendation of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which in 2007 considered Scientific Developments relating to the Abortion Act 1967.1

The revision of the guideline was undertaken by a multiprofessional group which was supported by the Department of Health (DH). Members of the Group included representatives of the RCOG, the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) as well as commissioners and providers of abortion services within the National Health Service (NHS) and the independent sector, and a member of the RCOG Consumers’ Forum.