Continued use of hormonal pregnancy test.

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Abstract
In both 1975 and 1977, the Committee on Safety of Medicines reported an association between hormonal pregnancy tests (HPTs) and subsequent congenital abnormalities and stated that such tests should no longer be used. Despite these findings, the Secretary of State declined to ban the proprietary drug involved (Primodos). Following the 1977 warning, 600 consecutive abortion patients at 6 branches of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) were asked whether they had been given HPTs. 12 patients (2%) indicated they had received such tests. Since most women had not consulted a general practitioner before coming to BPAS, this figure is probably an underestimate of actual use. Although a few doctors may have prescribed an HPT in the belief that the pregnancy would be terminated anyway, some HPTs were administered by doctors who subsequently refused to refer the patient for an abortion. If banning Primodos is considered an unacceptable infringement of professional freedom, the Department of Health and Social Security should consider making it a controlled drug, with the requirement that physicians ascertain through an immunological test that the recipient is not pregnant.

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