§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the methods used to terminate an unborn baby during selective reduction of pregnancy; and if he will give the gestational age at which such procedures are normally performed.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe method and gestational age at which a legal abortion is performed are matters for the clinical judgment of the doctor concerned, having regard to all the circumstances of the particular case.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department requires doctors performing selective reduction of pregnancies to require a certificate stating the grounds for termination of unborn babies under the Abortion Act 1967; and if he will make a statement.
(2) if terminations of unborn babies by performing selective reductions of pregnancies are included in the abortion statistics issued by his Department; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe Abortion Regulations 1968 SI No. 390, as amended, require a certificate of opinion and notice of termination to be given in respect of every abortion performed. The published statistics are derived from the notifications received.
The regulations do not require a certifying doctor specifically to mention cases of selective reduction of pregnancy.