Like most Mike Leigh films, Vera Drake tells a big story by concentrating on the small details of family. The movie is set around 1950 in an England where the various privations of the war are still in evidence.

Vera (Imelda Staunton) is a loving wife and mom who cares not only for her own family but also for her neighbours -- she makes tea for a shut-in, cares for her own aged mother, visits a sick friend, welcomes the lonely to her dinner table. Vera is also the local abortionist, just another task to which she brings her efficient and caring ways. Women come to her in desperation, unable to have a child for one reason or another; she views inducing a miscarriage as a way of helping. No money changes hands. (And no sharp metal objects are involved, but thanks for asking.)
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