HC Deb 30 January 1990 vol 166 cc124-5W
Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if Bourn hall, Bourn, Cambridge has a licence to perform abortions under the Abortion Act 1967.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

No.

Mrs. Ann Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidance he has issued on the application of the Abortion Act 1967 in those circumstances in which medical personnel fit intra-uterine devices with the intention of causing pregnancies to abort during their early hours; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The handbook on contraceptive practice, a copy of which is available in the Library, last published in 1984 and shortly to be reissued, describes the mode of action of post-coital contraceptives, including intra-uterine devices. The Department's policy on these matters is based on advice given to the Department about the legal position under the Abortion Act 1967; the interpretation of the law in any particular case is, of course, a matter for the courts.