§ Mrs. Ann Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the current criteria used within the Health Service in Northern Ireland to decide if a pregnant woman should have an induced abortion; and whether these criteria have changed in the last 10 years;
(2) if he will list the names of those hospitals in Northern Ireland, both National Health Service and private, in which abortions are currently performed; and if he will state in the case of each of these establishments the number of abortions which were performed in the latest year for which figures are available;
(3) how many (a) births and (b) abortions have taken place within the National Health Service in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. NeedhamIn Northern Ireland abortions are carried out only on therapeutic grounds where the life of the woman is threatened by the pregnancy or where continuance of the pregnancy is likely to cause grave danger to her physical or mental health. There has been no change in these criteria in the last 10 years.
295WTherapeutic terminations of pregnancy may be carried out in any gynaecological unit in the Province. Statistical information is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The number of births (including still-births) which occurred in hospitals administered by the health and personal social services in Northern Ireland for the years 1975 to 1984 is as follows. These figures include a small number of births to private patients but this number cannot be quantified.
Number of births 1975 26,095 1976 26,284 1977 25,816 1978 26,496 1979 28,208 1980 28,706 1981 27,431 1982 * 1983 27,198 1984 27,701 * Not available due to industrial action.