§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence is available to him on trends in illegal abortions occurring since the passing of the Abortion Act 1967, including figures on deaths from illegal abortion, discharges from hospital following septic abortion, emergency bed service admissions in connection with abortion, known offences of procuring illegal abortion and persons found guilty of illegal abortion offences; and whether these figures indicate a rise or a fall in illegal abortion occurrences compared with before 1967.
§ Dr. VaughanI refer the hon. Member to my replies to the hon. Member for Barking (Miss Richardson) on 19 July 1979 and my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Mr. Alexander) on 28 January in which I quoted the available indicators of the incidence of illegal abortions.—[Vol. 970, c.828–29; Vol. 977, c.486–87]. The 1978 volume of " Criminal Statistics for England and Wales " is now available—Cmud. 7670—and the relevant tables remain 28 and 10(a).
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health Service day care abortion units are operating in the United Kingdom; where these units are situated; how 317W many abortions were performed in these units for the years 1977, 1978 and 1979; and which area health authorities are planning to establish day care units.
§ Dr. VaughanDetailed information on the extent of day care provision in the National Health Service and the number of abortions performed in these circumstances is not collected centrally.