HC Deb 04 July 1972 vol 840 c82W
Mr. Pounder

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many deaths were notified following abortions carried out in Great Britain on women whose normal place of residence was given as Northern Ireland during the periods 27th April to 31st December, 1968, and calendar years 1969, 1970 and 1971, respectively;

(2) in the cases of the 479 abortions notified as being carried out in Great Britain during 1971 on women whose normal place of residence was given as Northern Ireland, what was their marital condition, age and grounds upon which the operations were performed.

Mr. Alison

For a provisional total of 649 such cases in Great Britain (479 in England) during 1971 the information is as follows:

Marital Status
Single 473
Married 123
Widowed divorced or separated 51
Not stated 2
Ages
0–15 7
16–19 139
20–24 234
25–29 107
30–34 76
35–39 44
40–44 25
Not stated 17
Grounds*
* As listed in Schedule 2 to Abortion Regulations 1968:
1—risk to life of woman;
2 and 3—risk of injury to health of woman and existing child(ren) respectively;
4—risk of abnormality in child.
1 2 3 4 2+4 3+other
6 562 2 1 2 76

No deaths were reported among these cases, nor among those in 1968, 1969 or 1970.