§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has studied the results of the survey on attitudes to birth control and abortion carried out by Ulster Marketing Surveys, a copy of which has been sent to him; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AncramI am aware of the results of the opinion polls carried out in 1992 and 1993. Ministers welcomed these surveys as a useful contribution to informing debate within Northern Ireland on these topics.
§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. AncramNone. The Government have consistently held to the view that legislation should not be introduced to reform Northern Ireland abortion laws unless this is likely to command broad support within the Province. While concluding that such support did not exist, the Government have in the past undertaken to keep the matter under review and to be prepared to modify their policy to take account of any significant shift in public opinion which may occur.