A Bill to require the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on complications from abortions in England; and for connected purposes.
House of Lords
30 April 2026
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The Complications from Abortions (Annual Report) Bill would make it a legal duty for the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on abortion complications in England. The report would include breakdowns by age, abortion method, gestation and complication type (including retained products of conception) using data from the Abortion Notification System and Hospital Episode Statistics, with the first report due within 12 months of passage; the Act would cover England and Wales and take effect on the day it passes.
The Bill has progressed to Committee of the Whole House in the Lords (Committee stage), following a first and second reading in 2024. It faces opposition to Clause 1 and has seen an amendments paper, with scrutiny focusing on parliamentary oversight rather than new powers; the next step would be the Report stage in the Lords.
Generated 21 February 2026
3 Sept 2024
13 Dec 2024
6 Jun 2025
Showing agreed, defeated, and withdrawn amendments.
The 2024-26 session of Parliament has prorogued and this bill will make no further progress.
This Lords publication is the running list of all amendments tabled for the Complications from Abortions (Annual Report) Bill [HL] in Committee of the Whole House, covering amendments up to 9 January 2025. It notes that Baroness Thornton has given notice of her intention to oppose Clause 1. Amendments are marked with a star to indicate new or altered text.
The Committee’s Second Report scrutinises a range of Bills for the powers they hand to ministers and the level of parliamentary scrutiny they would undergo. It warns that the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill relies on skeleton provisions giving broad regulatory powers and calls for removal or full justification of those powers; it also asks for clarification and potentially affirmative procedure for the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill’s repealing power. It notes that the Complications from Abortions (Annual Report) Bill contains no new delegated powers.
Requires the Secretary of State to publish and lay before Parliament an annual report on complications from abortion in England under the Abortion Act 1967, to inform policy and safe practice. The report must include complication rates overall and by age, by abortion method and gestation, by complication type (including retained products of conception), and any other information the Secretary of State wishes to include, drawing on the Abortion Notification System and Hospital Episode Statistics. The first report must be published within 12 months of the Act’s passage; the Act extends to England and Wales and comes into force on the day it is passed.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
