Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:39 pm on 23 February 2021.
Trefnydd, can I call for two statements today? The first is a request for a statement on the impact of people taking abortion medication at home. You'll be aware that the Welsh Government, the health Minister, announced that he was changing the rules regarding the ability to take abortion medication at home at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. But the problem is that between 1 April, when the arrangements changed, and 31 December last year, they saw a doubling of the numbers of call-outs to 999 for the ambulance service and a doubling of the number of ambulances that had to be dispatched to women who had taken abortion medication at home. I'm very concerned about that, because I know that the Welsh Government has just completed a consultation period about the possibility of these arrangements becoming permanent. But there are people who are very concerned about the increased call-outs to the ambulance service, the lack of medical supervision that these women experience and, of course, the fact that there are no safeguards to ensure that these women are not being coerced by partners.
The second statement that I'd like to see is a statement on big cats in the Welsh countryside from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs. You'll be aware that in north-east Wales there's been a spate of sightings of big cats in the Welsh countryside in recent months. Many members of the farming community in particular are concerned about the impact that these may have on their livestock in the future, yet we are without any statement from the Welsh Government at the moment as to what investigations are being undertaken into these sightings. Can I ask for an urgent statement on that from the Welsh Government Minister for rural affairs as soon as possible? Thank you.