§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total number of abortions performed under the Abortions Act 1967 since its implementation; how many of these abortions were performed in emergency to save the life of the mother; and what percentage of the former figure this latter figure represents.
§ Mr. SackvilleA total of 3,688,096 abortions have been performed in England, Wales and Scotland under the Abortion Act since 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, 151 were performed in emergency to save the life of the woman. These represent 0.004 per cent. of the total number of abortions.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of abortions performed each quarter in pregnancies of 24 weeks or more in the eight quarters prior to the implementation of the appropriate sections of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and what are the comparable figures for the numbers of abortions performed on pregnancies of 24 weeks or more in each quarter since the implementation of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe information for England and Wales is as follows:
Number of abortions Quarter At 24 weeks gestation At 25 weeks gestation and over June 1989 22 3 September 1989 10 7 December 1989 10 5 March 1990 6 6 June 1990 11 6 September 1990 6 3 December 1990 12 6 March 1991 13 8 June 19911 9 12 September 1991 4 14 December 1991 n/a n/a 1 The changes to the Abortion Act 1967 enacted in 1990 came into effect on 1 April 1991. These included the introduction of a time limit of 24 weeks for the main grounds for abortion.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons it was decided that the guidelines recently issued by his Department on the protection afforded to ancillary workers by the conscience clause of the Abortion Act 1967 should extend that protection only to personnel involved in disposing of foetal remains following the abortion and not to those personnel involved in preparing a woman for an abortion.
§ Mr. SackvilleI refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Health gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill (Mr. Alton) on 20 December 1991 at column355.