§ 14. Mrs. Maureen HicksTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the most recent statistics on the numbers of abortions performed on girls aged 16 years and under.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyIn England and Wales in 1988 a total of 10,081 abortions were carried out on resident girls aged 16 and under.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give a breakdown by numbers of(a) previous children and (b) previous abortions of the total number of abortions performed in the latest year for which figures are available.
595W
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 29 November 1989]: The number of abortions performed under the Abortion Act 1967 upon usually resident women by numbers of (a) previous liveborn or stillborn children and (b) previous abortions1 in England and Wales 1988 are shown in the tables.
Table 1 Number of abortions performed under the Abortions Act 1967, upon usual residents of England and Wales, 1988 by numbers of previous live and stillborn children Previous live/stillborn children Abortions 0 100,644 1 24,616 2 26,005 3 10,931 4 3,480 5 plus 1,663 Unknown 959
Table 2 Number of abortions performed under the Abortion Act 1967, upon usual residents of England and Wales, 1988 by previous legal terminations and spontaneous miscarriages.1 Previous number Legal terminations Spontaneous miscarriages 0 133,103 154,525 1 29,206 10,230 2 4,078 1,876 3 719 440 4 170 164 5+ 63 104 Unknown 959 959 1 The notification form for abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967 requires information about previous abortions to the woman concerned to be recorded, distinguishing between spontaneous miscarriages and legal terminations. The table shows the information requested for abortions performed in England and Wales in 1988 for those women having had one or more previous spontaneous miscarriage or legal termination.
Notifications having at least one previous spontaneous miscarriage and also at least one previous legal termination, and women having more than one abortion under the Act in 1988 will be counted more than once in the statistics.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give a breakdown of the numbers and percentages of abortions performed on pregnancies of 18 weeks or more gestation in England and Wales in the latest year for which figures are available by(a) age of mother, (b) residency of mother, (c) grounds for abortions, (d) marital status of mother, (e) numbers of previous children and (f) numbers of previous abortions; and if he will indicate the numbers and percentages of those abortions which were performed in the public and private sectors.
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 29 November 1989]: Numbers and percentages of abortions performed under the Abortion Act 1967 at 18 weeks or more gestation on residents and non-residents of England and Wales in 1988 by age of mother, residency of mother, grounds of abortions, marital status of mother, number of previous children and numbers of previous abortions.
596W
Conditions 1Number 2Per cent. Age of mother All ages 9,711 5.3 Under 15 143 15.5 15 282 9.8 16–19 3,071 7.5 20–24 3,189 5.4
Conditions 1Number 2Per cent. 25–29 1,540 4.1 30–34 751 3.4 35–39 470 3.4 40–44 229 4.1 45 and over 35 7.5 Residency Residents 168,298 91.6 Non-residents 15,500 8.4 Statutory grounds3 All grounds 9,711 5.3 1 (with any other) 25 5.1 2 (alone) 8,551 5.2 3 (with or without 2) 434 2.4 4 (alone) 633 52.1 4 (with any other except 1, excluding 4 alone) 66 11.8 5 or 6 2 18.2 Marital status Single 7,346 6.0 Married 1,490 3.6 Widowed/divorced/separated 668 3.9 Not stated 207 6.8 Number of previous children 0 6,693 6.0 1 1,535 5.8 2 854 3.1 3 376 3.2 4 152 4.0 5 and over 78 4.1 1 Number of abortions at gestation weeks 18 and over 2 As a percentage of all abortions 3 Statutory grounds 1. The continuance of pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated.
2. The continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated.
3. The continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk or injury to the physical or mental health of any existing child(ren) in the family of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated.
4. There is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.
5. To save the life of the pregnant mother.
6. To prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the child.
Number of previous legal terminations and spontaneous miscarriages1 Previous number Legal terminations Spontaneous miscarriages Number Per cent. Number Per cent. 0 8,146 5.6 9,143 5.4 1 1,346 4.3 444 4.1 2 168 3.9 83 4.2 3 34 4.4 14 3.1 4 4 2.2 11 6.5 5+ 2 2.8 5 4.5 Unknown 23 2.3 23 2.3 1 The notification form for abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967 requires information about previous abortions to the women concerned to be recorded, distinguishing between spontaneous miscarriages and legal terminations. Notifications having at least one previous spontaneous miscarriage and also at least one previous legal termination, and women having more than one abortion under the Act in 1988 will be counted more than once in the statistics.