§ Mr. Pounderasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the marital condition, age, and the grounds upon which the abortions were performed in the cases of the 769 operations notified during 1972 as being carried out in England and Wales on women whose normal place of residence was given as Northern Ireland ;
BY AGE AND MARITAL CONDITION Total Single Married Widowed Divorced Separated All ages … … 775 522 179 13 61 Under 16 … … 12 12 — — — 16— … … 169 162 6 — 1 20— … … 275 239 22 1 13 25— … … 115 59 35 3 18 30— … … 80 21 41 — 18 35— … … 72 14 46 5 7 40— … … 34 4 23 4 3 45+ … … 3 1 2 — — Not stated … … 15 10 4 — 1
BY GROUNDS FOR HAVING THE OPERATION (as listed in Schedule 2 to Abortion Regulations 1968) 1 Risk to life of woman … … … … … 5 2 Risk of injury to health of woman … … … … … 662 3 Risk of injury to health of existing child (ren) … … … … … 2 4 Risk of abnormality in child … … … … … — 5 In emergency to save life of woman … … … … … — 6 In emergency to prevent grave permanent injury to woman … … … … … 1 2 and 4 … … … … … 1 3 and others … … … … … 104 Total … … … … … 775 No deaths were reported among these cases.
§ Dr. Summerskillasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what study he has made on the documented medical reports on the subsequent effects of induced abortion which have been produced by other countries over the last 15 years.
§ Sir K. JosephI am aware of the various reports that are available and most of these will no doubt have been studied by the Committee on the Working of the Abortion Act. I am awaiting its report and will be interested in the committee's views on the conclusions to be drawn from these studies. Some of the results must be interpreted with care when applying them to the situation in this country. Differences in such matters as the definition of these effects, the method of collecting data, the legal criteria for abortion and medical practice in the country concerned can considerably198W (2) how many deaths were notified following abortions carried out in England and Wales on women whose normal place of residence was given as Northern Ireland during 1972.
§ Mr. AlisonThere were 775 legal abortions performed in England and Wales during 1972 on women usually resident in Northern Ireland. Details are as follows :
affect the validity of individual results.
§ Dr. Summerskillasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make it obligatory for post-abortion cases necessitating readmission to be notified in order that adequate statistics can be compiled.
§ Sir K. JosephI do not consider that it would result in meaningful statistics, even if it were practicable. There would be difficulties in deciding what time limit after the operation should be specified, as to when such further notification should be made. Confusion could arise when readmission was due to some other intervening condition or when the condition was not readily identifiable as necessarily due to abortion. In cases where the operation had taken place elsewhere patients might be reluctant to divulge that they had had an abortion. Some further 199W cases of complications would be treated at home by general practitioners.