§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many girls aged 18 years and under, broken down by age, have(a) become pregnant and (b) had an abortion in each of the last three years. [172866]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Burns, dated 17 May 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many girls aged 18 years and under, broken down by age, have (a) become pregnant, and (b) had an abortion, in each of the last 3 years. (172866)Numbers of conceptions are estimated from registrations of births and notifications of abortions. Miscarriages before the 24th week of gestation are not included.Numbers of conceptions, and those leading to an abortion, at ages 18 years and under are given in the attached table, broken down by age.747W
Number of conceptions to women aged 18 years and under, by outcome and age of woman (single years) at conception—England and Wales, 1999 to 2002 Total conceptions Number terminated by abortion Under 14 19991 406 232 20001 397 236 20012 398 219 20023 359 —
Number of conceptions to women aged 18 years and under, by outcome and age of woman (single years) at conception—England and Wales, 1999 to 2002 Total conceptions Number terminated by abortion Age 14 19991 1,866 1,081 20001 1,890 1,100 20012 1,883 1,154 20023 1,652 — Age 15 19991 5,673 2,870 20001 5,827 3,048 20012 5,610 3,025 20023 5,111 — Age 16 19991 13,334 5,845 20001 13,153 5,854 20012 13,103 5,993 20023 12,876 — Age 17 19991 20,749 8,063 20001 20,081 8,020 20012 19,972 8,323 20023 19,117 — Age 18 19991 26,627 9,637 20001 26,180 9,651 20012 25,731 9,666 20023 24,239 — 1Source: Table 12.2, Birth Statistics, Series FM1, No. 30, Office for National Statistics. 2Provisional figures. 3Provisional estimates are based on incomplete abortion data, therefore the number terminated by abortion is not provided.