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The King versus Aleck Bourne

Caroline M de Costa
Med J Aust 2009; 191 (4): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02762.x
Published online: 17 August 2009

The case that established the lawfulness of terminating pregnancy to preserve women’s health

Aleck W Bourne (4 Jun 1886 – 27 Dec 1974)


  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, James Cook University School of Medicine and Dentistry, Cairns, QLD.


Correspondence: caroline.decosta@jcu.edu.au

Competing interests:

None identified.

  • 1. A charge of illegal abortion – Rex v. Bourne. Lancet 1938; 232: 220-226.
  • 2. Keown J. Abortion, doctors and the law. Some aspects of the legal regulation of abortion in England from 1803 to 1982. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  • 3. Brookes B. Abortion in England 1900–1967. London: Routledge Kegan and Paul, 1988.
  • 4. Bourne AW. Rex v. Bourne [letter]. Lancet 1938; 232: 280.
  • 5. Aleck W Bourne [obituary]. BMJ 1975; 1: 99.
  • 6. Rex v. Bourne [editorial]. Lancet 1938; 232: 201-202.
  • 7. Talbot F. Abortion and the law [letter]. Lancet 1938; 232: 280-281.
  • 8. R v. Davidson, (1969) Victorian Reports 667, Menhennitt J at 671.
  • 9. R v. Bayliss and Cullen, (1986). 9 Qld Lawyer Reps 8 (Dist Ct) McGuire J at 45-56.
  • 10. Vera Drake [film]. Leigh M, director. Les Films Alain Sarde, 2004.
  • 11. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The care of women requesting induced abortion. National evidence-based clinical guidelines. London: RCOG, 2004.

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