§ Mr. LofthouseTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the total number of abortions, under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967, in the Pontefract district health authority area for each year from 1983 up to the latest year for which figures are available; how many of these abortions were performed in emergency to save the life of the pregnant woman; and what is the latter figure expressed as a percentage of the former.
§ Mr. Newton[holding answer 1 March 1988]: The information is shown in the table.
260W
Number of notifications of abortions performed on usual residents of Pontefract district health authority, and number of mentions of ground 51 1983–86 Year Number of abortions Mention of ground 1983 346 0 1984 339 0 1985 355 0 1986 408 0 1 Ground 5 of the 1967 Abortion Act permits abortions to be performed "in emergency to save the life of the mother".