§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women died from legal abortion opera-
ENGLAND AND WALES Deaths registered in the periods year 1967 1st January-26th April,1968 27th April-31st December,1968 year1969 1. Deaths resulting from operations directly following illegal or spontaneous abortons 3 — — 4 2. Deaths attributed to legal abortion operations 1(a) 2(b) 3(c) 10(d) 3. Deaths from other underlying causes, registered with mention of legal abortion operation 1(e) — — 2(f) 4. Deaths from other underlying causes, registered without mention of legal abortion, but notified under the Abortion Act — — — 6(g) Reliable information is not available for the estimates asked for in the last part of the question. Causes of Death (a) Intra abdominal haemorrhage following hysterotomy (termination and sterilisation). (b) Respiratory failure, pulmonary collapse due to termination of pregnancy; Peritonitis due to therapeutic termination of pregnancy. (c) Haemorrhage due to vaginal termination of pregnancy; Pulmonary embolism due to termination of pregnancy by abdominal hysterotomy; Fat embolism due to termination of pregnancy (irritant paste). (d) Generalised peritonitis; Pulmonary embolus due to left internal iliac vein thrombosis; Broncho-pneumonia due to acute suppurative metritis; Suppurative broncho-pneumonia following infection of the abdominal operative incision; Perulent haemorrhagic peritonitis due to perforated acute gastric ulceration and perforated bowel; Ileus due to hysterotomy due to coronary atheroma; Liver failure and septic endometritis; Multiple pulmonary emboli due to pelvic vein thrombosis; Renal cortical necrosis due to ruptured uterus; Peritonitis. (e) Status asthmaticus. (f) Congenital heart disease; Cancer of rectum. (g) Respiratory obstruction while recovering from anaesthetic; Cerebral haemorrhage; Pulmonary embolism; Pulmonary embolism. broncho-pneumonia; Acute myocarditis; Pulmonary embolism. deep vein thrombosis.