Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he gives on ensuring that all women seeking an abortion are given accurate, complete, balanced and up-to-date information regarding the potential health risks of the procedure.

Jane Ellison

Clinical guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion (November 2011) recommends that services should make sure that “written, objective, evidence-guided information is available for women considering abortion to take away before the procedure. Information should be in a variety of languages and formats”. In addition, “staff providing abortion services should provide up-to-date evidence-guided information, supported by local data where robust, about complications and sequelae of abortion”.

The Department requires independent sector providers to provide women with impartial evidence-based information (verbal and written) which includes “what to expect, during and after the abortion (to include potential side effects, complications and any clinical implications)”. Also the Care Quality Commission’s Essential Standards of Quality and Safety require that “the risks, benefits and alternative options are discussed and explained in a way that the person who uses the service is able to understand.”