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Sir John Biggs-Davison
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of girls under 16 years upon whom abortions were performed, with only their own consent, during each of the years for which records exist.
Mr. Newton
The table shows the numbers of abortions carried out under the Abortion Act 1967 to women aged under 16 years of age in England and Wales from April 1968 to September 1986. Information on consent is not available centrally.
| Number of notifications of legal abortions to women aged under 16 years. England and Wales 1968–1986 | |
| Year | Number |
| 1 1968 | 553 |
| 1969 | 1,231 |
| 1970 | 1,822 |
| 1971 | 2,618 |
| 1972 | 3,320 |
| 1973 | 3,660 |
| 1974 | 3,948 |
| 1975 | 4,006 |
| 1976 | 3,835 |
| 1977 | 4,067 |
| 1978 | 3,724 |
| 1979 | 3,836 |
| 1980 | 4,143 |
| 1981 | 3,949 |
| 1982 | 4,343 |
| 1983 | 4,566 |
| 1984 | 4,609 |
| 1985 | 4,427 |
| 21986 | 3,744 |
| 1 From 27 April 1968. | |
| 2 Notifications for first three quarters received by end of November. From 1968 to 1980, figures are based on notifications received. From 1981 onwards, figures are based on occurrences. | |