Only hours left of the appeal to help build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.
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Five teenagers among over 700 women who had at least their sixth abortion last year – calls made for parental notification law

Last year, five teenagers were among hundreds of UK women who had at least their sixth abortion a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

Overall, 84,258 repeat abortions were performed in Britain in 2018, including 3,332 on teenagers – with the overall figure up 7% on 2017 and an 11% rise on 2016.

Pro-life campaigners have called upon political party leaders to urgently commit to introducing parental notification legislation in the next Parliament.

Data released by the Department of Health for England and Wales and NHS Scotland under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that:

  • 143 women had an abortion last year having previously had seven or more terminations – a 19% increase on 2017 and a 27% rise on 2016
  • 172 women had their seventh abortion in 2018 – a 26% increase on 2016
  • 403 women had their sixth termination – 10% up on 2017 and a 33% increase on 2016
  • 1,298 women – including five teenagers – had their fifth abortion in 2018
  • 4,389 women – including 23 teenagers – had their fourth termination

Earlier in the year, the Department of Health released figures showing that the number of abortions for residents of England and Wales was the highest number ever in 2018 at 200,608.

The figures do not include Northern Ireland where Europe’s most extreme abortion has been imposed upon the province.

A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson said:

“This election we are calling on party leaders to commit to urgently introduce parental notification legislation in the next Parliament.

“Polling shows a large majority of parents want a law change on this. It’s now time for Parliament to begin steps to introduce a parental notification law that will ensure that parents are involved in what can be one of the biggest decisions of their child’s lives.

“As a parent, I understand why parents around the country are shocked that their child can be taken away to an abortion clinic for a secret abortion without parents being involved. To hear that five teenagers have had at least six abortions shows that this legislation is urgently needed in the UK.

“The abortion industry cannot be trusted to take the place of parents to know what is in the best interests of their child. As we have seen from Care Quality Commission reports, abortion facilities have been found to have a vested interest in girls undergoing abortions.

“This highlights the lack of legal protections in place to protect vulnerable girls, under the age of consent, and the fact that parents have no legal right to be informed or consulted about their child’s abortion.

“This also highlights the ridiculous scenario here in the UK where a girl aged under 16 needs parental consent to take a paracetamol pill at school but does not need any parental consent for her school nurse to take her off to an abortion clinic to terminate her pregnancy.“

“A ComRes poll, conducted in 2017, showed that 70% of parents agree that parental or guardian consent should be required for girls aged 15 or under to undergo an abortion.”

Pro-life charity Life said the figures were “extremely alarming but hardly surprising given the increasingly easy access to abortion”.

The charity’s director of advocacy Liz Parsons told Sky News: “Women having repeat abortions, especially young people, would suggest there are underlying problems leading to unplanned pregnancies which are not resolved by putting women on the abortion conveyor belt.”

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, after a two-year battle, MPs voted by 286 to 270 to reject the Edwards assisted suicide Bill.

This followed the defeat of the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland by 69 to 57 in March this year.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people over the coming decades.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

A prominent pollster described the campaign against these major attempts to introduce assisted suicide, which brought together people from all walks of life across the UK, as one of the “most successful 21st Century UK social issue campaigns”. You helped make that possible.

WHY WE MUST NOT STOP HERE

What we have achieved together is extraordinary. But we must not rest on our laurels.

Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made clear that it will keep campaigning to legalise assisted suicide. 

We cannot wait until another Bill is brought forward. We need to keep pressing for better care and strengthen the case against legalisation now.

WHAT COMES NEXT

The next phase of our Support Not Suicide campaign will operate across Parliament, media, online and in grassroots communities in every constituency across the United Kingdom.

Our focus now is to build on that momentum from the defeat of these assisted suicide Bills and make these victories last.

We want to build a United Kingdom where assisted suicide is seen as unnecessary – and where legalising it is seen as unthinkable.

The first part of that work is a sustained push for universal access to high-quality palliative, hospice and social care. No one should feel driven towards assisted suicide because they cannot get the care and support they need. 

We have already asked supporters to contact their MPs about improving care. With your help, we will keep that pressure on in every constituency, brief MPs and Peers on gaps in care, and make the case for better provision in the media.

The second part is building on these wins to ensure more MPs and more of the wider public understand the dangers of legalising assisted suicide. We will put evidence of those risks before MPs and Peers. We will work with mainstream journalists to bring the voices of people directly affected, doctors and other experts into the national conversation, and produce clear videos and articles that supporters can share online and in their communities.

Our network of 250,000 supporters covers every constituency in the UK. Thanks to people like you sharing our content, our posts and videos have been viewed more than 100 million times online in the last year. 

We want to utilise that massive reach for this next phase of the campaign.

WE CAN ONLY DO THIS WITH YOUR HELP

The two-year fight to stop these Bills drew heavily on our limited resources.

To replenish those resources and fund the next phase of the Support Not Suicide campaign, we aim to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (4 October 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can today.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in protecting vulnerable lives. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

Will you donate now to help make these victories last and protect vulnerable lives?

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.