The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong plans to expand its abortion service after the closure of a private hospital that performed more than half of the city's terminations.
Despite the move, the health minister told legislators yesterday he was worried that public hospitals may face heavier demand for abortions.
Almost 60 per cent of legal abortions in the city - or about 5,000 per year - have been conducted at Hong Kong Central Hospital. Last month it was ordered to move off the site in Central that it has occupied for more than 50 years, after its lease expires.
It will close on September 3 and has started winding down already, prompting concerns about the reduction in abortion services.
'We hope the Family Planning Association can try its best to resolve the needs, but it really depends on its resources and capacity,' Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man said yesterday, in his first health panel meeting in the Legislative Council.
However, the Family Planning Association provides abortions for women only up to 10 weeks pregnant. After that point, women must go to a hospital. Abortion is legal in Hong Kong up to 24 weeks. The association, the largest advocate of birth control, conducts about 2,000 abortions a year, 20 per cent of the city's demand. It can stretch its services to 3,000 a year at its existing facility.