Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many terminations post-24 weeks’ gestation have been performed since the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 entered into force (1) in total, and (2) by year.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Abortion Act 1967 requires that the Chief Medical Officer be legally notified of an abortion within 14 days of the termination. Statistical summaries of this data, which include the Grounds for the termination, are published annually. Statistics for years from 1968 to 1973 were published in the Registrar General’s Statistical Review of England and Wales, Supplement on Abortion. Statistics for years from 1974 to 2001 were published by the Office for National Statistics in its Abortion Statistics Series AB, Numbers 1 to 28. Since 2002, the Department has published an annual series of Abortion Statistics for England and Wales. All are publicly available, but for ease of reference the first three reports identifying abortions from 1991 onwards are attached.
Prior to 1991 abortion on the ground of a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped was classified as Section 1(1)(b).
The classification of abortions as Ground E (section 1(1)(d) of the Act) was introduced in April 1991. Data on the number of abortions by Ground is included in Table 1 of each of the attached documents. Information on the distribution of all post-24 week abortions and those under Ground E is included in Table D and the supporting text in each of the documents.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many terminations have been performed under Ground E of the Abortion Act 1967 since it entered into force (1) in total, and (2) by year.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Abortion Act 1967 requires that the Chief Medical Officer be legally notified of an abortion within 14 days of the termination. Statistical summaries of this data, which include the Grounds for the termination, are published annually. Statistics for years from 1968 to 1973 were published in the Registrar General’s Statistical Review of England and Wales, Supplement on Abortion. Statistics for years from 1974 to 2001 were published by the Office for National Statistics in its Abortion Statistics Series AB, Numbers 1 to 28. Since 2002, the Department has published an annual series of Abortion Statistics for England and Wales. All are publicly available, but for ease of reference the first three reports identifying abortions from 1991 onwards are attached.
Prior to 1991 abortion on the ground of a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped was classified as Section 1(1)(b).
The classification of abortions as Ground E (section 1(1)(d) of the Act) was introduced in April 1991. Data on the number of abortions by Ground is included in Table 1 of each of the attached documents. Information on the distribution of all post-24 week abortions and those under Ground E is included in Table D and the supporting text in each of the documents.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proof of a foetus’ gestation is provided alongside the submission of the HSA4 abortion notification form.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Ultrasound scanning is commonly used to assess pregnancies in women before they undergo abortion to confirm gestation and identify abnormalities such as ectopic pregnancy or uterine anomalies. In addition, assessment of the date of onset of the last menstrual period, bimanual pelvic examination and abdominal examination may also be used. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have issued guidance to doctors on termination of pregnancy, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, which makes recommendations around dating pregnancies, and Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales. Copies of both documents are attached.
Doctors are under a legal obligation to accurately complete the HSA4 form and send it to the Chief Medical Officer, either manually or electronically, within 14 days of the abortion taking place. The form requires information on the gestation of the pregnancy. No additional proof of gestation is required. All abortions and medical conditions over 23 weeks gestation are scrutinised by an independent medical practitioner contracted by the Department. In addition, forms are checked by the Department where there are inconsistencies in gestation and method of abortions and grounds and place of termination. A check is made for gestation by clinic, as some clinics are only authorised to perform abortions up to certain gestations.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure continuity of practice amongst doctors with respect to the method by which the gestation of a foetus is determined before being recorded on the HSA4 abortion notification form.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Ultrasound scanning is commonly used to assess pregnancies in women before they undergo abortion to confirm gestation and identify abnormalities such as ectopic pregnancy or uterine anomalies. In addition, assessment of the date of onset of the last menstrual period, bimanual pelvic examination and abdominal examination may also be used. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have issued guidance to doctors on termination of pregnancy, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, which makes recommendations around dating pregnancies, and Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales. Copies of both documents are attached.
Doctors are under a legal obligation to accurately complete the HSA4 form and send it to the Chief Medical Officer, either manually or electronically, within 14 days of the abortion taking place. The form requires information on the gestation of the pregnancy. No additional proof of gestation is required. All abortions and medical conditions over 23 weeks gestation are scrutinised by an independent medical practitioner contracted by the Department. In addition, forms are checked by the Department where there are inconsistencies in gestation and method of abortions and grounds and place of termination. A check is made for gestation by clinic, as some clinics are only authorised to perform abortions up to certain gestations.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government by which method the gestation of a foetus is determined before being recorded on the HSA4 abortion notification form.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Ultrasound scanning is commonly used to assess pregnancies in women before they undergo abortion to confirm gestation and identify abnormalities such as ectopic pregnancy or uterine anomalies. In addition, assessment of the date of onset of the last menstrual period, bimanual pelvic examination and abdominal examination may also be used. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have issued guidance to doctors on termination of pregnancy, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, which makes recommendations around dating pregnancies, and Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales. Copies of both documents are attached.
Doctors are under a legal obligation to accurately complete the HSA4 form and send it to the Chief Medical Officer, either manually or electronically, within 14 days of the abortion taking place. The form requires information on the gestation of the pregnancy. No additional proof of gestation is required. All abortions and medical conditions over 23 weeks gestation are scrutinised by an independent medical practitioner contracted by the Department. In addition, forms are checked by the Department where there are inconsistencies in gestation and method of abortions and grounds and place of termination. A check is made for gestation by clinic, as some clinics are only authorised to perform abortions up to certain gestations.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many successful claims for wrongful birth, other than cases of failed sterilisation or vasectomy, have been made since 1990; what was the total amount of compensation awarded by the NHS Litigation Authority in each case; and for what specific disabilities was compensation awarded in successful claims.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
There are two successful claims for wrongful birth recorded in the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) Claims Management System that relate to a child being born with Downs Syndrome in the period requested. The damages paid to date relating to these two cases are £7,454,200, with the total payments over the lifetime of the claims calculated to reach £10,457,242.
Data is not held on the NHS LA Claims Management System on how much the NHS LA has paid out in total since 1990 to parents of babies with disabilities who claimed that they would have had an abortion had they known earlier that their child would have a disability. To obtain the data, a manual review of the case files would be required which would incur disproportionate cost. Data would only be available from April 1995 when the NHS LA was established, as before that trusts dealt with their clinical negligence claims locally.
There have been a total of 156 successful wrongful birth claims; this figure does not include failed vasectomy or sterilisation claims. To date, these claims have resulted in payments of damages of £114,264,308 with the total payments over the lifetime of the claims calculated to reach £123,894,773. It is not possible to provide data on the specific disabilities for which compensation was awarded in these cases without a manual review of the case files which would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the NHS Litigation Authority has paid in total since 1990 to parents of babies with disabilities who claimed that they would have had an abortion had they known earlier that their child would have a disability.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
There are two successful claims for wrongful birth recorded in the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) Claims Management System that relate to a child being born with Downs Syndrome in the period requested. The damages paid to date relating to these two cases are £7,454,200, with the total payments over the lifetime of the claims calculated to reach £10,457,242.
Data is not held on the NHS LA Claims Management System on how much the NHS LA has paid out in total since 1990 to parents of babies with disabilities who claimed that they would have had an abortion had they known earlier that their child would have a disability. To obtain the data, a manual review of the case files would be required which would incur disproportionate cost. Data would only be available from April 1995 when the NHS LA was established, as before that trusts dealt with their clinical negligence claims locally.
There have been a total of 156 successful wrongful birth claims; this figure does not include failed vasectomy or sterilisation claims. To date, these claims have resulted in payments of damages of £114,264,308 with the total payments over the lifetime of the claims calculated to reach £123,894,773. It is not possible to provide data on the specific disabilities for which compensation was awarded in these cases without a manual review of the case files which would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many payments for wrongful birth, other than cases of failed sterilisation or vasectomy, were made by the NHS Litigation Authority to parents of children with Down's syndrome in each of the past five years; and what was the total cost of each payment.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
There are two successful claims for wrongful birth recorded in the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) Claims Management System that relate to a child being born with Downs Syndrome in the period requested. The damages paid to date relating to these two cases are £7,454,200, with the total payments over the lifetime of the claims calculated to reach £10,457,242.
Data is not held on the NHS LA Claims Management System on how much the NHS LA has paid out in total since 1990 to parents of babies with disabilities who claimed that they would have had an abortion had they known earlier that their child would have a disability. To obtain the data, a manual review of the case files would be required which would incur disproportionate cost. Data would only be available from April 1995 when the NHS LA was established, as before that trusts dealt with their clinical negligence claims locally.
There have been a total of 156 successful wrongful birth claims; this figure does not include failed vasectomy or sterilisation claims. To date, these claims have resulted in payments of damages of £114,264,308 with the total payments over the lifetime of the claims calculated to reach £123,894,773. It is not possible to provide data on the specific disabilities for which compensation was awarded in these cases without a manual review of the case files which would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many fatal foetal abnormalities were diagnosed after 24 weeks of a pregnancy in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
This information is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many fatal foetal abnormalities were diagnosed in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
This information is not collected centrally.