§ Baroness Knight of Collingtreeasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many women in Great Britain are unable to have children as a consequence of having an abortion; and whether they will investigate the issue. [HL4245]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe information requested is not collected centrally.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists considered this issue in its evidence-based guideline The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion (2000) and concluded that published studies strongly suggest that infertility is not a consequence of uncomplicated induced abortion.
The guideline recommends that abortion care should encompass a strategy for minimising the risk of post-abortion infective morbidity.
As part of the national strategy for sexual health and HIV, the Department of Health will start rolling out national screening for chlamydia from this summer. If not detected and treated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Young women seeking termination of pregnancy will be one of the target groups for the screening programme.