Less than 10 medical abortions carried out in Western Trust area in 2014/15

The statistics do not include the number of girls and women who travel from the North to elsewhere to have an abortion.

The report includes figures from 2006/07 to 2014/15; for each year, less than 10 medical abortions were carried out in the WHSCT area.

A medical abortion is defined by the DHSSPS as the interruption of a live pregnancy for legally acceptable, medically approved indications. It also includes readmission with retained products of conception following a previous medical termination of pregnancy.

A termination of pregnancy is defined by DHSSPS as any patient who has a live pregnancy terminated for indications that are

legally acceptable and medically approved in Northern Ireland. Medical termination of pregnancy is a subset of medical abortion.

In total, there were 16 terminations of pregnancy in Health and Social Care (HSC) hospitals in the North of Ireland during 2014/15. This is a decrease of seven from 2013/14.

Three quarters of the terminations of pregnancy in the North in 2014/15 were carried out in the Belfast Trust.

In 2006/07, 57 medical abortions were carried out in the North; seven of which on women aged 24 and under; 15 on women aged between and 25 and 29 and 35 on women aged 30 years and over.

Of the 16 medical abortions in the North in 2014/15 three medical abortions were carried on women aged 24 and under; seven on women aged between 25 and 29 and six medical abortion on women aged 30 years and older.

The 1967 Abortion Act is legal practice in England, Scotland and Wales but not in the North of Ireland.

The legislation governing abortion in the North of Ireland are sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 and sections 25 and 26 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 (which are derived from the corresponding provisions of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929).