§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the incidence of pregnancy in women over the age of 35 years.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergIt is estimated that in England and Wales during 1980—the most recent year for which these statistics are at present available—about 50,000 women became pregnant over the age of 35; of these 32,000 later gave birth to a live or stillborn child and 18,000 had the pregnancy legally terminated under the 1967 Abortion Act. The incidence of pregnancy was approximately 17 per 1,000 women of ages 35 to 44.