§ Ms. Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaths in England and Wales were attributed, respectively, to all maternal causes, all forms of abortion, spontaneous abortion, illegal abortion and legal abortion, in each of the years 1960 to 1984 inclusive.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe available figures are given in the tables. Because of changes in the international classification of diseases (ICD), figures from 1979 to date are not comparable with those of earlier years.
Before 1979 it is not possible to distinguish between spontaneous abortion and other forms of abortion, and the statistics for this period include maternal deaths where the interval between the onset of the maternal condition and death is up to one year.
From 1979, the category "All abortion" is defined as pregnancy with abortive outcome, excluding ectopic pregnancy. A maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the