HC Deb 16 June 1971 vol 819 cc96-7W
63. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many abortion operations have been performed in Scotland in each year since the passing of the Abortion Act; and how many were performed in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively.

Mr. Gordon Campbell

The information is as follows:

NUMBER OF ABORTIONS NOTIFIED TO CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, SCOTTISH HOME AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT
1968* 1969 1970 (provisional)
Scotland 1,538 3,559 5,201
Aberdeen 217 490 578
Dundee 137 301 438
Edinburgh 361 890 1,117
Glasgow 273 698 1,030
* The Abortion Act, 1967 came into operation on 27th April, 1968.

64. Mr. David Steel

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, for each of the years 1968, 1969 and 1970, how many women had abortions without sterilisation and how many with sterilisation; and for each of these categories, how many deaths wer eassociated with, and how many attributed to, the operation in question.

Mr. Gordon Campbell

The number of women who had an abortion under the Abortion Act without sterilisation in each of the three years was 972, 2,447 and 3,780, respectively, and with sterilisation 566, 1,112 and 1,421, respectively.

In 1968 and 1969 there were no deaths connected with abortion under the Act. The statistics for 1970 are not yet available.

65. Mr. David Steel

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, for each of the years 1968, 1969 and 1970, how many married women had National Health Service abortions; and of these, how many were also sterilised.

Mr. Gordon Campbell

The number of married women who had an abortion in National Health Service hospitals in each of the three years was 856, 1,844 and 2,654, respectively. Of these 497, 988 and 1,308, respectively, were sterilised.