Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the one-time analysis published on 23 November 2023, Complications from abortions in England: comparison of Abortion Notification System data and Hospital Episode Statistics 2017 to 2021, which discussed the limitations of the HSA4 form, what steps they are taking to improve data collection on complications from at-home tablet-induced abortions.

In accordance with the Abortion Act 1967, registered medical practitioners must notify the Chief Medical Officer of abortions within 14 days. The HSA4 abortion notification form is provided to collect the required information, including details of any known complications, up until the time of the patient’s discharge from the abortion service. The HSA4 form is a statutory instrument, the content of which cannot be changed without legislation.

The Department continues to work with abortion providers to ensure that abortion complications known up until the time of discharge from the abortion service are recorded on the HSA4 form. There are no plans to require the notification of complications that occur after discharge from the abortion service.

Abortion continues to be a very safe procedure, for which major complications are rare at all gestations. Home use of early medical abortion pills is recognised to be a safe procedure by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the World Health Organisation.