HL Deb 28 March 1972 vol 329 cc1047-8WA
LORD AVEBURY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the terms of reference of Mrs. Justice Lane's Committee on the working of the Abortion Act 1967 would enable the Committee to make recommendations on payments by the Supplementary Benefits Commission in respect of costs in connection with abortions performed outside the National Health Service.

LORD ABERDARE

The terms of reference of the Committee allow them to make recommendations on any feature of the working of the Act, subject to the qualification that certain specified sections of the Act should remain unaltered. It would therefore be open to them to make recommendations on the payment of costs in connection with private abortions if they so wished.