HC Deb 05 December 1975 vol 901 cc432-4W
Mr. Litterick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will publish in the Official Report figures showing the number of abortions carried out in the National Health Service hospitals and private nursing homes in each of the West Midland Regional Health Administration Areas for the last 12 months for which information is available.

Dr. Owen

Available information relates to the West Midland Regional Health Authority as a whole. Provisional figures for 1974 are 2,730 operations performed in National Health Service hospitals and 17,750 in approved places.

Mr. Litterick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will publish in the Official Report figures showing the total number of abortions carried out in the United Kingdom during the last 12 month period for which in formation is available, indicating also the number of abortions carried out for therapeutic, social and other reasons during the same period.

Dr. Owen

Available information is as follows:

ABORTIONS ON WOMEN USUALLY RESIDENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
Grounds 1974*
1. Risk to life of woman 1,128
2. Risk of injury to physical or mental health of woman 95,163
3. Risk of injury to physical or mental health of existing child(ren) 3,369
4. Substantial risk of child being born abnormal 1,036
5. In emergency—to save life of woman 3
6. In emergency—to prevent grave permanent injury to physical or mental health of woman 9
2 with 4 756
3 with others 15,513
116,977
* Provisional.

Mr. Litterick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will publish in the Official Report figures showing the number of abortions carried out in NHS hospitals and in the private sector, respectively, during the last 12 months for which the information is available.

Women usually resident in Great Britain Women not usually resident in Great Britain Total
National Health Service hospitals 63,030 242 63,272
Approved places 53,947 53,443 107,390
116,977 53,685 170,662

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaths were attributed to abortion in England and Wales in each quarter of 1975 to date; and in each case, what was the classification of the cause of death.

Dr. Owen

The provisional number of deaths in the March quarter assigned to abortion is two, both abortions being induced for medical indications. Figures for later quarters are not yet available.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many abortions were notified as being carried out in England and Wales in 1974 on women whose normal place of residence was, respectively, England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Irish Republic, Channel Isles, Isle of Man, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Italy, West Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the United States of America and other countries, respectively; and what are the comparable figures for the first three-quarters of 1975.

Dr. Owen

The numbers are as follows:

ABORTIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Women usually resident in 1974 (Provisional) 1975 to 30th September
England and Wales 109,432 81,124
Scotland 1,038 831
Northern Ireland 1,102 851
Irish Republic 1,406 1,197
Channel Islands and Isle of Man 373 275
Belgium 616 312
Luxembourg 41 22
France 36,541 13,398
Spain 2,863 3,117
Italy 1,730 3,966
West Germany 6,112 2,825
Netherlands 80 58
Denmark 4 2
Austria 268 69
Switzerland 604 347

Dr. Owen

The provisional numbers of abortions carried out in Great Britain during 1974 are as follows:

Canada 24 11
United States of America 64 46
Other countries 819 713
163,117 109,164

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many abortions were notified in 1974 for women normally resident in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Coventry and Liverpool; how many of these were performed in (a) a National Health Service hospital in the home region, (b) non-National Health Service premises in the home region, (c) a National Health Service hospital in another region and (d) non-National Health Service premises in another region; and how these all compare with the figures for 1975 as far as they are now known.

Dr. Owen

I regret that this information is not yet available. I shall write to my hon. Friend when it is.

Forward to