The establishment of an AID clinic in Northern Ireland.

In the past, childless couples could be certain of obtaining a child by adoption within two years of being placed on the waiting list. However, over the last 12 years despite the increasing numbers of illegitimate births the numbers of babies available for adoption has decreased-this is a result of the increasing number of abortions being carried out since the 1967 Abortion Act and, the larger number of unmarried mothers who now prefer to keep their child. The number of placements by adoption agencies in Northern Ireland has fallen from 415 in 1966 to 358 in 1977, and this can partly be accounted for by the rise in the number of Ulster women having their pregnancies terminated in England to over 1200 per year. For many couples the waiting list is unacceptably long, and, provided there is no female barrier to conception, donor insemination may provide an alternative solution to their problem.