Mike Leigh has put out a film Vera Drake about backstreet abortions in 1950s London, which is accurate historical but not medically. This article was written by Jennifer Worth,a mid-wife, explaining the medical issues of illegal abortions...

And I liked this bit...

In 1967 the Abortion Act was passed, and abortion was no longer illegal. When I was a gynaecology ward sister at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital in London, I was sometimes asked whether or not I approved of it. My reply was that I did not regard it as a moral issue, but as a medical issue. A minority of women will always want an abortion. Therefore, it must be done properly.