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.

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.