Abortion

House of Lords written question – answered at on 25 March 2009.

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Photo of Baroness Masham of Ilton Baroness Masham of Ilton Crossbench

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many abortions were performed under the Abortion Act 1967 in each of the past 15 years, broken down by (a) grounds for abortion, (b) length of gestation, and (c) health authority in Scotland, where the unborn child was suffering from (1) cleft palate, and (2) cleft lip.

Photo of Lord Darzi of Denham Lord Darzi of Denham Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health)

The information is shown in the following table for abortions performed in England and Wales since 1995.

Prior to 1995, the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes did not include cleft lip and/or palate. For 1995 onwards, abortions with a principal medical condition of cleft lip or cleft palate are coded together as cleft lip and/or palate.

Data cannot be broken down by gestation or health authority for confidentiality reasons in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics (2005). All abortions shown were performed under Section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, that there is substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped. 2008 statistics are due to be published in spring 2009.

Data on abortions performed in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Government.

Abortions performed under Section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, with a principal medical condition of cleft lip and/or palate by gestation, residents of England and Wales, 1995-2007
Total cleft lip and/or palate
All gestations 24+ weeks
1995 6 0
1996 5 0
1997 5 0
1998 5 0
1999 3 0
2000 9 0
2001 2 1
2002 1 0
2003 111 -
2004 111 -
2005 111 -
2006 - -
2007 - -

- suppressed value less than 10 (between 0 and 9). From 2003 onwards, totals of less than 10 are suppressed for reasons of confidentiality in line with the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics (2005).

1 For years 2003, 2004 and 2005, some of the principal medical conditions for abortions performed under Section 1(1)(d) had to be suppressed as the totals for each single year were too small to release. In the three years 2003-05, there were 11 cases with a principal medical condition of the congenital malformation cleft lip and/or cleft palate.

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