What does it take to get an abortion in the UK? The signature of two physicians, Dr. Evan Harris -- a Liberal Democratic MP -- writes at Comment is Free. Not surprisingly, research shows that poor women are most harmed by the requirement, since they are least able to visit two separate doctors in a climate where, as in the United States, access to reproductive health care and abortion can be "patchy." Parliament will debate the Abortion Act this coming spring for the first time since 1990, and British ob-gyn professional groups are recommending an end to the two signature rule. Since modern abortion is among the safest surgeries offered -- it's 10 times less likely to result in death than pregnancy itself -- there is nothing but patriarchal ideology behind permission slips that treat women like children. --Dana Goldstein
