§ LORD CONESFORDMy Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Elton, who is ill, I beg to ask the first Question standing in his name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government the number of abortions carried out since last April under the Abortion Act 1967, distinguishing if possible those carried out under paragraph 1(1)(a) from those under paragraph 1(1)(b); and also the number of abortions carried out in each of the three previous years.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY (BARONESS SEROTA)My Lords, 28,849 abortions carried out under the Act in England and Wales were notified to the Chief Medical Officer during the period April 27, 1968, to February 25, 1969. The number of abortions carried out during the period on each of the grounds specified in Schedule 2 of the Abortion Regulations 1968 were as follows:
1136 A further 4,599 abortions were stated to have been carried out for more than one of these reasons.
Ground 1—risk to life of woman 1,350 Ground 2—risk to physical or mental health of woman 20,746 Ground 3—risk to physical or mental health of existing children 1,137 Ground 4—risk of bearing physically or mentally handicapped child 965 Ground 5—emergency — to save life of woman 14 Ground 6—emergency — to prevent grave injury to woman's health 38 The estimated numbers of therapeutic abortions carried out in National Health Service hospitals in England and Wales during the last three years for which information is available were as follows: 1965, 4,530; 1966, 6,380; 1967, 7,610. The numbers of abortions carried out before April 27 last in places other than National Health Service hospitals are not known.
§ LORD CONESFORDMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her Answer, which will be carefully studied.
§ LORD ST. HELENSMy Lords, would the noble Baroness tell the House how many of these abortions were carried out on persons not domiciled in this country?
§ BARONESS SEROTAMy Lords, I am aware of reports in the Press and elsewhere to the effect that a number of foreign women are coming to this country for the purpose of having a pregnancy terminated privately. The latest information available indicates that at the end of 1968 about 50 abortions were being performed each week on women from abroad, almost all of them in approved places and concentrated in London.
§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that a recent television programme suggested that a great number of these private abortions were carried out by surgeons not properly qualified? Have the Government looked into this matter?
§ BARONESS SEROTAMy Lords, I did not see the television programme to which the noble Lord has referred. Naturally my right honourable friend the Secretary of State and I are keeping this matter under close review, and we have no evidence substantiating the kind of point that the noble Lord has just made.
§ LORD KILBRACKENMy Lords, would the Minister agree that the figures she has given for the three years preceding the passage of the Act bear absolutely no relationship to the numbers of abortions actually carried out over that period?
§ LORD SEGALMy Lords, in view of the extortionate charges of some private 1137 nursing homes for performing this operation, would my noble friend consider asking her right honourable friend whether in some cases the Minister would consider withdrawing approval from these nursing homes for the carrying out of these operations?
§ BARONESS SEROTAMy Lords, I am aware of the concern which has been expressed in the Press and elsewhere about the rate of charges for abortions carried out in private nursing homes. I must remind the House that the statutory limit on fees chargeable by practitioners to their private patients in National Health Service hospitals was removed in January, 1967. It would therefore be difficult for my right honourable friend to reimpose charges throughout, but I have taken note of the noble Lord's point and we will consider the suggestion he has made.