§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the procedures involved in performing a partial birth abortion; [34255]
87W(2) what information he has concerning the number of partial birth abortions performed in each region in the last year for which figures are available, the gestation of the pregnancy in each of those cases and the reason for the abortion. [34256]
§ Mr. HoramWe are not aware of this procedure being used in the United Kingdom. Methods of abortion are a matter of clinical judgment.
§ Mrs. WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to bring forward(a) legislation or (b) guidelines to prohibit the use of the technique of partial birth abortion. [34257]
§ Mrs. WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has recently made and what guidance he has recently given of the steps which should be taken by medical practitioners to reduce the likelihood of a foetus feeling pain during the course of an abortion performed(a) as a partial birth abortion and (b) by other techniques. [34258]
§ Mr. HoramThese are matters for the medical profession. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has issued recent guidance which addresses the issue, "Termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality in England, Wales and Scotland", copies of which will be placed in the Library shortly.
§ Mrs. WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the statistically most likely candidate for an abortion in the latest year for which figures are available in terms of(a) the marital status of the woman, (b) the age of the woman, (c) the gestation of the pregnancy, (d) the number of previous abortions undergone by the woman and (f) the legal grounds under which the abortion was performed. [34260]
§ Mr. HoramThe statistically most likely candidate for an abortion for each of the variables listed is defined as the category with the highest recorded frequency of legal terminations. The percentages are based on all legal terminations performed in 1993, in England and Wales, on residents and non-residents.
The categories with the highest frequencies found in each of the variables are as follows:
88Wmarital status: single women comprised 66 per cent. (112,036) of all terminations;age of the woman: 20–24 age group comprised 30 per cent. (50,591) of all terminations;gestation: nine to 12 weeks of gestation comprised 49 per cent. (81,949) of all terminations;number of previous children borne by the woman: woman with no previous (live and still born) children born to them, comprised 54 per cent. (90,891) of all terminations;Number of previous abortions undergone by the woman: women who have had no previous legal terminations comprised 75 per cent. (126,006) of all terminations;legal ground under which the abortion was performed: statutory ground C alone comprised 87 per cent. (147,058) of all terminations. The definition of ground C is "that the pregnancy has not exceeded its 24th week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the woman".Ref: 1993 ARV abortion statistics.