Summary#
The Complications from Abortions (Annual Report) Bill [HL] would create a new law; it does not amend an existing Act. It would require the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on abortion complications in England, using data recorded by two named sources and including specified complication rates. Its stated goal is annual reporting on those complications. It is a private member’s bill and is not yet law; whether it will pass is uncertain.
- The Secretary of State must publish a report every year.
- The report must include data recorded by both the Abortion Notification System and Hospital Episode Statistics.
- It must give complication rates overall, by the woman’s age, and by abortion method and gestation.
- The Secretary of State may include any other information they see fit.
- The bill extends to England and Wales, but the required report concerns abortions in England.
What it means for you#
- People using abortion services: The bill does not directly change access to abortion, the care provided, or who is eligible for an abortion. It requires public reporting.
- The Secretary of State: If the bill becomes law, they must publish the annual report and include the specified data and rates.
- The public: The report would provide recurring information about abortion complications in England. The bill does not set out how the information must be presented or explained.
Money#
No cost information is in the available material.
- The bill requires an annual report but gives no estimate for producing it and does not specify funding or staffing.
What is unclear#
- The bill does not define “complication” or explain how complication rates must be calculated.
- It does not say how data from the two sources should be compared or combined.
- It sets no deadline within each year for publication and does not specify when the first report must appear.
- The supplied material does not describe existing legal reporting requirements or explain how this duty would fit with current reporting. No publicly available information.
- The bill does not explain why it extends to Wales when the required report is about England.
Case for#
- A possible argument for the bill is that an annual report could make information about abortion complications easier to find over time.
- Requiring rates by age, method and gestation could show differences that an overall rate alone would not show.
- Requiring data from two named sources could give readers more information than a report based on only one source.
Case against#
- The bill does not define “complication” or set a calculation method. Without those details, readers may not know how to interpret the rates or compare them over time.
- It does not say how differences between the two data sources should be handled.
- The Secretary of State may choose what additional information to include, and the bill sets no publication deadline within each year. The report’s scope and timing could therefore vary.