§ Sir Hugh Rossiasked the Secretary of State for Social Services in which district health authority areas amniocentesis is performed with a view to recommending an abortion dependent upon the results of the tests;
(2) in which district health authority areas pregnant women are only offered amniocentesis if they first consent to an abortion dependent on the results of the tests;
(3) what information he has as to the frequency in England with which amniocentesis causes (a) complications in pregnancy, (b) damage to the foetus and (c) inadvertent death of the foetus;
(4) in what percentage of cases in England amniocentesis has indicated abnormalities whereas foetuses subsequently have been found to be normal.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe exact information requested is not held centrally. The decision to offer amniocentesis to a pregnant woman is a matter of clinical judgment, and will depend on the risk in her particular case of the foetus having a detectable abnormality. The offer is made without preconditions; it is for the woman to decide whether to have the test in the light of a full explanation from her doctor of its significance and possible risks. In individual cases when the test result is available, 591W termination of pregnancy may be recommended but only after consideration of all the relevant factors. The risk of spontaneous miscarriage or of foetal damage associated with amniocentesis is currently estimated to be of the order of 1–1½ per cent. in experienced hands. Facilities for amniocentesis are available through all consultant obstetric departments. A survey on antenatal screening for congenital abnormalities was published by the Maternity Alliance in September 1982.