Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which Government funding to Marie Stopes International is used by that organisation to provide elective abortions in (a) Uganda and (b) other countries where such abortions are illegal; and if she will make a statement.

By helping the world’s poorest women access modern contraception, we will prevent an estimated 6 million unintended pregnancies and 3 million abortions on average each year.

Family planning reduces, but on its own does not eliminate, the backstreet abortions that kill women. So, where this is not against local law, the UK will consider supporting access to safe abortion in the world’s poorest countries. UK aid cannot be used to fund illegal services.