§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will make it her policy to ensure that women considering abortions have the option of access to ultrasound scanning facilities to enable them more fully to understand the nature of the operation about which they are being counselled; and to ensure that the existence of such an option is explained to them.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe decision as to whether an ultrasound scan should be used in any particular case is a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor concerned. Counselling should include the provision of any information the woman may wish to have about her condition or the operation being contemplated.
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§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women normally resident overseas visited the United Kingdom for abortions in the latest year for which figures are available; and what information she has on the total level of fees which was thus generated.
§ Mr. SackvilleIn the period 1 October 1990 to 30 September 1991, 11,552 non-residents had abortions in England, Wales and Scotland. Fees paid will vary according to gestation, any complications and length of stay. The total is not known centrally.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the names and addresses of all those private clinics which are licensed by her Department for the performing of abortions, indicating where appropriate those which have special arrangements for late abortions, and giving the most recent two dates upon which an unannounced visit was made by officials representing her Department to each of those clinics to inspect their facilities and the service which they provided.
§ Mr. SackvilleI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Health gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mrs. Gorman) on 3 February at columns86-89. Those private sector places approved to perform abortions over 20 and up to 24 weeks with dates of the last two visits by Department of Health officials are:
Approved place Date of last two visits Robert clinic, Birmingham July 1991 and January 1992 Leigham clinic, London October 1991 and March 1992 Rosslyn nursing home, East Twickenham, Middlesex October 1991 and February 1992 Wistons nursing home, Brighton September 1991 and November 1991 Raleigh nursing home, London March 1992 and May 1992 Parkview clinic, London December 1991 and May 1992
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of abortions performed under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967, in NHS facilities or in private clinics but at a cost to the NHS, in the latest year for which figures are available; what was the average cost of each of those abortions to the national health service; what is the resultant total cost of abortions to the NHS in that year; and whether these estimates include the cost of treating those patients who suffer adverse physical or mental reactions as a result of the abortion.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe total number of abortions in England, Wales and Scotland performed under the National Health Service in 1990, either in NHS hospitals or through arrangements between NHS authorities and the private sector, was 93,212. The cost of an abortion varies according to gestation, any complications and length of stay. The average cost of a straightforward in-patient abortion in an NHS hospital is £270 at 1990–91 prices. This figure does not include the cost of any subsequent patient care.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total number of abortions676W performed under the Abortion Act 1967 since its implementation; and how many and what percentage of these abortions were performed (a) in respect of babies conceived as the result of rape and (b) under the social clause, ground II.
§ Mr. SackvilleA total of 3,688,096 abortions have been performed in Great Britain under the Abortion Act 1967 since its implementation. (This covers the period from the time when the Act came into force on 27 April 1968 until 30 September 1991, the latest date for which figures are available). Of these, 3,154,637 (85.5 per cent.) were performed on the ground that
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.The remaining information requested is not available in the precise form specified. As rape is not in itself a statutory ground for performing an abortion under the 1967 Act, and is not required to be specified on the notification form by the certifying doctor, the exact number of notifications of abortions associated with rape is not known. However, in some cases the information is volunteered, and arrangements have been made to code separately and analyse all notification forms which mention rape from 1987 in Great Britain. Of the 912,546 notifications received from the period 1987 to 30 September 1991 for abortions performed in Great Britain, 191 (0.02 per cent.) mentioned rape. Earlier, but non-comparable, data relating to abortions performed in England and Wales were collected clerically and published for the years 1968–73, in table 12 of the Registrar General's "Statistical Review, Supplement on Abortion", a copy of which is in the Library. The reliability of these earlier data is uncertain.