"She Should Have Got Rid Of It"

Myra says this to Maureen when she tells her and their mum thats shes pregnant and that Dave doesnt want it. Myra says she should have "gotten rid" of her first baby, Angela Dawn and she should "get rid" of this one. Now by getting rid, im guessing she means an abortion. But Abortion wasnt legal in the UK till 1967 and this scene takes place in 1966? 1965?

I guess my question is : were backstreet abortions easy to get for working class women in 1960s Manchester? I wouldnt have thought they were. And theyre notoriously dangerous. I have a personal interest because I am a young woman in Ireland, where abortion is illegal. I dont know if there are illegal abortions here. Most women (and I know a few) just go to the UK. Which is expensive and emotionally draining.

So, in summary, would it have been possible for Maureen to have gotten an illegal abortion? Or was that a goof by the writers?


history is a battle fought by a great evil,struggling to crush a small kernel of human kindness