Abortion has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 1967 when the Abortion Act was passed. The Act did not extend to Northern Ireland and abortion there has been highly restricted. Around 200,000 abortions are performed in Britain each year. In law, only doctors may authorize or perform abortions, but aspects of care can be delegated to other members of a healthcare team. Nearly three-quarters of abortions in the country are undertaken medically, a service mainly delivered by nurses and midwives. There are learning outcomes for abortion care in undergraduate medical education curricula and for post-graduate training in obstetrics and gynecology and community sexual and reproductive health care. However, a waning sense of responsibility by gynecologists to provide abortion care and, in England, a shift of abortion services away from National Health Service hospitals where training occurs to independent clinics, has resulted in fewer opportunities for practical exposure, role-modeling and mentorship. Formal education in abortion care for nurses and midwives is limited; most undertake professional development while working in an abortion service. Medical, nursing and midwifery colleges throughout the United Kingdom are actively working on improving the status of education in abortion care.