§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to issue guidance to regional health authorities that abortions should be treated as urgent operations if non-urgent beds have to be cleared to deal with Gulf war casualties; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere is no need for health authorities to prepare for Gulf casualties by emptying beds until significant ground operations begin. The decision as to whether an abortion should be treated as an urgent operation is a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctors concerned in each individual case.