Guidelines and Requirements of the Abortion Regulations 1991

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 of the Abortion Act 1967 and now vested in him, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations. These Regulations may be cited as the Abortion Regulations 1991, and shall come into force on 1st April 1991. These Regulations extend to England and Wales only.

Interpretation and Statutory Context

In these Regulations “the Act” means the Abortion Act 1967 and “practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner. These Regulations make new provision to take account in particular of the amendments to the Abortion Act 1967 made by section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (c. 37), including the new grounds for abortion introduced by those amendments.

Certificate of Opinion

Any opinion to which section 1 of the Act refers shall be certified. In the case of a pregnancy terminated in accordance with section 1(1) of the Act, in the form set out in Part I of Schedule 1 to these Regulations, and in the case of a pregnancy terminated in accordance with section 1(4) of the Act, in the form set out in Part II of that Schedule. Regarding the timing of these certifications:

• Any certificate of an opinion referred to in section 1(1) of the Act shall be given before the commencement of the treatment for the termination of the pregnancy to which it relates.
• Any certificate of an opinion referred to in section 1(4) of the Act shall be given before the commencement of the treatment for the termination of the pregnancy to which it relates or, if that is not reasonably practicable, not later than 24 hours after such termination.

Any such certificate as is referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this regulation shall be preserved by the practitioner who terminated the pregnancy to which it relates for a period of not less than three years beginning with the date of the termination. A certificate which is no longer to be preserved shall be destroyed by the person in whose custody it then is.

Notice of Termination and Information Delivery

Any practitioner who terminates a pregnancy in England or Wales shall give to the appropriate Chief Medical Officer such other information relating to the termination as is specified in the form set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations, and shall do so by sending them to him in a sealed envelope within 7 days of the termination. The designated recipients are as follows:

Restriction on Disclosure of Information

A notice given or any information furnished to a Chief Medical Officer in pursuance of these Regulations shall not be disclosed except that disclosure may be made to the following authorized entities:

• to an officer of the Department of Health authorised by the Chief Medical Officer of that Department, or to an officer of the Welsh Office authorised by the Chief Medical Officer of that Office, as the case may be, or to the Registrar General or a member of his staff authorised by him;
• for the purposes of carrying out his duties in relation to offences under the Act or the law relating to abortion, to the Director of Public Prosecutions or a member of his staff authorised by him;
• for the purposes of investigating whether an offence has been committed under the Act or the law relating to abortion, to a police officer not below the rank of superintendent or a person authorised by him;
• pursuant to a court order, for the purposes of proceedings which have begun;
• for the purposes of bona fide scientific research;
• to the practitioner who terminated the pregnancy;
• to a practitioner, with the consent in writing of the woman whose pregnancy was terminated;
• when requested by the President of the General Medical Council for the purpose of investigating whether there has been serious professional misconduct by a practitioner, to the President of the General Medical Council or a member of its staff authorised by him.

Revocation of Previous Regulations

The whole of the Regulations specified in Schedule 3 to these Regulations are revoked. These Regulations (which extend to England and Wales) are made under section 2 of the Abortion Act 1967, and replace the Abortion Regulations 1968 and the three sets of amending regulations: