Abortion

(asked on 2nd May 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to commission a national pathway to ensure access to abortion services for women with medical complexities.


Answered by
Lord O'Shaughnessy Portrait
Lord O'Shaughnessy
This question was answered on 15th May 2018

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service’s report, Medically Complex Women and Abortion Care, found that women in the United Kingdom with medical conditions including epilepsy, heart problems, and cancer can struggle to obtain abortion care. The Department recognises that some women with complex medical needs face challenges in accessing timely abortion care and is working with NHS England to ensure there are sufficient facilities in the National Health Service to provide abortions for women who have medical conditions and cannot be treated in standalone abortion clinics.

Currently clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning NHS-funded termination of pregnancy services in England. Ministers have agreed that in 2018/19 NHS England will become the responsible commissioner for a small number of terminations, estimated at between 2,500 and 3,000, where the woman has significant comorbidities, which require critical care and/or medical support that would only be available in co-located NHS facilities. A national service specification will be developed to formally commission this service.

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of women who are currently unable to access appropriate specialist care.

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