Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what protection they are offering to vulnerable women who feel under pressure to have a sex-selective abortion for fear of injury to their physical or mental health should they give birth to a girl.

Women who present for an abortion should always have the opportunity to speak to a health professional or trained pregnancy counsellor on their own at some point during the consultation to determine the degree of certainty of their decision. Staff will take this opportunity to identify whether there is any pressure to terminate the pregnancy from others. Where pressure or coercion is identified, pathways should be in place to refer the woman for support from specialist services.