§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged under 18 have(a) given birth and (b) had an abortion, in each year since 1997. [68480]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Willetts, dated 10 July 2002:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many women under 18 have (a) given birth and (b) had an abortion in each year since 1997. (68480)Figures are available for the years 1997–2000; these are shown in the table.
Births and abortions to women aged under 18, residents of England and Wales 1997 1998 1999 2000 Births1 number 15,977 15,887 15,118 14,305 rate2 16.9 16.9 16.2 15.2 Abortions3 number 16,092 17,186 16,561 17,082 rate2 17.0 18.3 17.7 18.1 1Inclusive of live births and stillbirths. 2 Per 1,000 women aged 15–17. 3Legal abortions under the 1967 Abortion Act. Sources:
Births Statistics, Abortions Statistics (National Statistics Annual Reference Volumes published by the Stationery Office). Population estimates used to produce the rates were projected from 1991 census figures.