Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaths there have been of (a) women, (b) babies and (c) stillbirths where the termination of pregnancy through pills-by-post has been considered a contributory factor.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not routinely collected centrally.
The Department collects information on abortions in England and Wales via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The HSA4 form includes a section for recording the death of a woman within 14 days of an abortion, where this is known to abortion providers. This is not routinely published because the 14-day time frame limits the data’s usefulness for counting the total number of deaths amongst women following abortion. Also, it does not record whether the method of abortion, including home use of early medical abortion pills, was a contributory factor in a death.
Since 2020, zero deaths of women following an abortion have been reported to the department via the HSA4 form, rounded to the nearest five. Following the 2023 abortion statistics publication, all data is rounded to the nearest five. As a result of this change, counts of zero can mean no or a small number of procedures in the given field.
Information on the deaths of women, babies following a live birth, and stillbirths are recorded by the Office for National Statistics using data derived from information collected in death registrations. However, it is unusual for wider contextual factors such whether the deceased had taken early medical abortion pills at home to be recorded on the death certificate.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many prosecutions there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The At-Home Early Medical Abortion or EMA (known as the “pills by post” scheme), was implemented to allow eligible individuals to receive medication to terminate a pregnancy of less than 10 weeks via post after a telephone or video consultation. Introduced in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to improve access to care, the scheme was made permanent in August 2022.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of prosecutions for offences relating to the illegal use of medication expressly procured to cause an abortion. To establish number and outcomes of prosecutions where relevant offences relating to the misuse of medication were prosecuted would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.
Management information is available which shows the number of offences charged by way of Sections 58 and 59 (administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion / procuring drugs, instruments to cause abortion) and Section 1 (child destruction) in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2025.
| Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 { 1(1) } | Offences Against the Person Act 1861 { 58 } | Offences Against the Person Act 1861 { 59 } |
2020-2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021-2022 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
2022-2023 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
2023-2024 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
2024-2025 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System | |||
The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many charges there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does collect and publish official statistics on the number of charges for the offences of ‘Procuring illegal abortion’ offences and ‘intentional destruction of a viable unborn child’ recorded by the police in England and Wales.
However, it is not possible to separately identify investigations relating to the termination of pregnancy through the pills-by-post scheme in data that is held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) prosecutions, (2) CPS referrals, (3) acquittals, and (4) convictions there have been under (a) sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and (b) the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, for each of the last 10 years for which data are available.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of defendants prosecuted, referred, acquitted, or convicted of offences created by s58-59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and s1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. To establish number and outcomes of prosecutions where these offences were charged would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.
Management information is available which shows the number of offences of charged by way of Sections 58 and 59 (administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion / procuring drugs, instruments to cause abortion) and Section 1 (child destruction) in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2025.
| Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 { 1(1) } | Offences Against the Person Act 1861 { 58 } | Offences Against the Person Act 1861 { 59 } |
2015-2016 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
2016-2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2017-2018 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
2018-2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019-2020 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
2020-2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021-2022 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
2022-2023 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
2023-2024 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
2024-2025 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System | |||
The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how not collecting data, through the Abortion Notification System and hospital episode statistics, on complications arising from at-home medical abortions after the patient’s discharge from the care of the abortion service accords with the commitment to collect empirical data to improve women’s health outcomes outlined in the Women’s Health Strategy for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Women’s Health Strategy sets out our ambitions to make better use of data already collected, and to address gaps in women’s health data to improve women’s health outcomes.
The Department routinely publishes data on abortion complications reported via the Abortion Notification System (ANS). The ANS collects information on complications that occur up until the time of discharge for all abortions, and where the medicine was administered for medical abortions.
The Department has published a one-time analysis exploring whether Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) can be used as a supplementary source for data on abortion complications. The HES data in the publication includes abortion complications arising from any abortion which resulted in an inpatient admission. The publication found that abortion complications are recorded differently in HES compared to the ANS and there are different strengths and limitations associated with using either data source. The Department has no plans to publish a separate annual report on abortion complications.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what methodology they are using to measure the efficacy and impact on women’s health of the 2022 changes to the Abortion Act 1967 permitting early medical termination of pregnancy taking place in the patient's home.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Abortion continues to be a very safe procedure for which major complications are rare at all gestations. The Department works closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, and abortion providers to ensure that abortions are provided safely, in accordance with the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967.
It is a legal requirement under the 1967 Abortion Act that the Chief Medical Officer must be notified of all abortions within 14 days of the procedure. The Department provides the HSA4 abortion notification form for this purpose. HSA4 forms collect information on the practitioner terminating the pregnancy, details of the patient and their treatment, including abortion method, gestation of the pregnancy, and the certified grounds for terminating the pregnancy. It also records known complications, up until the time of the patient’s discharge from the abortion service. The Department routinely monitors and publishes data reported via abortion notifications.
To consider the completeness of abortion complications data submitted via abortion notifications, the Department committed to publishing a one-time analysis comparing data from the Department’s Abortion Notification System and the Hospital Episode Statistics. This was published in November 2023.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many domestic abortions using (a) mifepristone and (b) misoprostol have occurred in England in each year since 2020.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department cannot separate out which of mifepristone or misoprostol were administered at home, only whether one or both abortion medications were administered at home.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of telemedicine for first-trimester abortions on the number of criminal prosecutions in England and Wales over the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The offences that apply in cases of unlawful abortion are administering drugs to procure an abortion and procuring drugs to cause abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.
Publicly available Ministry of Justice statistics show the following number of prosecutions brought under those offences:
Proceeded against | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Procuring Illegal Abortion (Sections 58 & 59 Offences Against the Person Act 1861) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Child Destruction (Section 1 Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.
The available data does not specify how many of these prosecutions are linked to the use of telemedicine for early medical abortion. The Government has not made an assessment on the connection between the number of prosecutions for unlawful abortions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.
The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to telemedicine for early medical abortion.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many GP practices returned more than 1000 HSA4 forms which record an abortion by medicine administered at home in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department collects information on abortions via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The HSA4 form does not capture information on whether the form was returned by a general practice.
The HSA4 form does capture information on the hospital or clinic where the termination took place, and whether any medicine was administered at the patient’s usual place of residence. However, the publication of the Abortion Statistics for England and Wales from 2023 onwards has been delayed due to several operational issues. These include issues associated with moving to a new data processing system and an increase in the number of paper abortion notification forms to process. We will announce the dates of the publication of the data for 2023, and later 2024, in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many GP practices returned more than 100 HSA4 forms which record an abortion by medicine administered at home in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department collects information on abortions via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The HSA4 form does not capture information on whether the form was returned by a general practice.
The HSA4 form does capture information on the hospital or clinic where the termination took place, and whether any medicine was administered at the patient’s usual place of residence. However, the publication of the Abortion Statistics for England and Wales from 2023 onwards has been delayed due to several operational issues. These include issues associated with moving to a new data processing system and an increase in the number of paper abortion notification forms to process. We will announce the dates of the publication of the data for 2023, and later 2024, in due course.