The statement issued on 18 July 1975 by the DHSS reiterates what Dr. David Owen, Minister of State, said in the House of Commons on 25 June 1975 when the question of sterilization of a child under 16 was raised. This was that he had been advised that there were grounds for sterilizing children of 15 or younger. There were some cases where the procedure was undoubtedly necessary, as in the surgical treatment of some carcinomas. A more controversial situation was where a girl was pregnant and pregnancy at any stage of her life would carry grave risks to health. Termination of pregnancy would then be justified and sterilization might be advised at the same time. Then there were severe genetic conditions affecting a girl’s family where there was a high risk of any child the girl might bear suffering from that condition.