A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has stated that there is a growing number of medics in the NHS that oppose the idea of abortion. These doctors are opting out of abortion training, creating a shortfall in professionals available to carry out abortion procedures. Doctors have admitted to opting out due to abortion not being a ‘glamorous' area, as well as changes to training schedules and working hours.

Marie Stopes is Britain's largest private abortions provider, with two thirds of these being funded by the NHS. Private abortion clinics are authorized by the Secretary of State, and provide an alternative to NHS hospitals. By visiting http://www.abortion-clinics.co.uk/ it is possible to view a comprehensive list of private abortion clinics in the UK, many of which are unknown to the general public due to not being advertised.

The search engine, which assists women in locating an abortion clinic, allows the user to find an exhaustive list of locally accessible abortion clinics, simply by entering the first three characters of her postcode. Users can then link straight to a summary of the details of an individual abortion clinic, including information about its distance away, and whether it will offer only a private abortion service or, also, procedures funded by NHS contract. A simple, further click will take the user to a map locating the abortion clinic, its opening hours and, usually a link to its website where details of its abortion information and abortion counselling services can be found.

A unique feature of abortion-clinics.co.uk is its external links to abortion information services in Spain and Ireland. The Spanish site also incorporates an easily searchable list of abortion clinics on the mainland and islands of Spain. The Irish link provides invaluable information for women seeking abortion counselling in the Republic of Ireland (including guidance on seeking a private abortion in England).

Whether you are a healthcare professional in search of a detailed description of abortion laws in the UK and abroad, or some one looking unprejudiced abortion information in plain language, abortion-clinics.co.uk is the best source of no nonsense advice. As abortion-clinics.co.uk can be accessed in over 20 different languages, it helps to demystify the process of seeking abortion counselling or a private abortion, by offering women of many cultural background direct links toabortion clinics and other sources of sexual health provision.

The website also contains information on different abortion procedures and the law surrounding abortions. Whilst abortion is legal for pregnancies under 25 weeks, Marie Stopes spokesman Tony Kerridge has said surveys show that as many as one in five doctors on the NHS are against abortion, however the majority don't let this interfere with the care they provide their patients.

The Abortion Clinic's website also provides a guide on general matters on sexual health, family planning, and advice to help women make the best decision for them concerning their pregnancy. The chief exec of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Ann Furedi, states that "abortion is an absolutely essential, life-saving part of medical care - it may not be the most glamorous medical specialty on the face of it, compared to stem cell research - but it is seen as heroic work by the women that it helps."

The Department of Health have confirmed that a number of young medics do not take part in abortion training, however this is not having a knock-on effect onabortion rates, which are remaining stable. They are set to discuss training issues with the RCOG in the future.