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“Given there are now over 200,000 abortions each year…we ought to make it easier” says Peter Bottomley MP

An MP has suggested that the highest-ever abortion rate in England and Wales is justification to remove even more safeguards surrounding abortion saying “given that it is now so common and that there are over 200,000 abortions a year in this country… we ought to make it easier”.

In a debate held on International Women’s Day in the House of Commons, the Member of Parliament for Worthing West, Sir Peter Bottomley, used the event as an occasion to advocate for the removal of safeguards that exist around abortion.

One of the few remaining safeguards is the requirement that two doctors approve an abortion. This requirement is intended to help prevent coercion and reduce medical complications.

In the context of the debate, Jackie Doyle-Price MP argued that the two-doctor requirement should be removed and that other safeguards should also be removed. In an intervention, Sir Peter said

“Can I put it to my hon. Friend that, given that it is now so common and that there are over 200,000 abortions a year in this country—it takes two to tango, so that is 400,000 people contributing, some perhaps more than once, but not many—we ought to make it easier?”

Contrary to Sir Peter’s claim that there are “not many” repeat abortions, the 2021 abortion figures show that there were 91,313 repeat abortions in England and Wales accounting for 42.5% of all abortions, an increase of 3.85% on the previous year.

The statistics released by the Department for Health and Social Care show the highest number of abortions ever recorded in England and Wales, with 214,869 taking place in 2021, an increase of 4,009 from 2020.

More than 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in abortion in England and Wales

In the same year, there were 624,828 live births according to ONS figures. That means that over 1 in 4 pregnancies ended in abortion (excluding miscarriages and stillbirths).

The figures also show that 88 ‘selective termination’ procedures were performed, where a twin, triplet or more were aborted in the womb. This represents a 35.38% increase from 2020. 

There was a 9.31% increase in the number of disability-selective abortions from 3,083 in 2020 to 3,370.

274 disability-selective abortions were performed at 24 weeks and over, a 19.65% increase compared to 2020 when 274 abortions were performed on babies with disabilities.

859 babies with Down’s syndrome were aborted in 2021, an increase of 23.95% from 693 in 2020. There was also a 71.43% increase in late-term abortions at 24 weeks and over where a baby had Down’s syndrome from 14 in 2020 to 24 in 2021.

The statistics also showed that there were 40 abortions where the baby had a cleft lip or cleft palate, an increase of 135.29% from 2019. There was also a 100% increase in late-term abortions at 24 weeks and over where a baby had a cleft lip or cleft palate from 3 in 2020 to 6 in 2021.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “That is over 200,000 unique and irreplaceable lives lost to abortion and what is this Conservative MP’s answer? Not introducing measures to lower the number of abortions but instead telling Parliament it should be made easier to end lives through abortion. The shockingly high abortion rates in England and Wales should be a source of concern. The correct response should be alarm and a serious discussion about how these numbers can be brought down, not how it can be made even easier to have an abortion.”

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.

Dear reader,

As you already likely know, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill sadly passed Second Reading at the end of last month.

While it is very disappointing that the Bill passed Second Reading, an analysis published in The Independent shows that at least 36 MPs who supported the Bill did so only to allow further debate or because they had concerns that meant they won’t commit to supporting the Bill at Third Reading. Since then, our Public Affairs team has identified a number of other MPs who share these reservations.

With the vote passing by a margin of 55, just 28 MPs switching their stance to oppose the Bill would ensure it is defeated at Third Reading, so there is a clear path towards this Bill being defeated. We can still win this.

The assisted suicide lobby are fully aware that support for the Bill is very fragile. They will fight fiercely to prevent 28 MPs from switching their votes to oppose the Bill.

For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable lives that will be put at risk, we must win the vote and defeat this dangerous Bill.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign in the run-up to Second Reading was the biggest and most expensive we have ever run and so it has made a significant dent in our limited financial resources.

We are now working on an even bigger campaign to defeat this dangerous Bill at Third Reading.

To ensure we effectively defeat this extreme assisted suicide Bill, we are aiming to raise at least £100,000 by midnight this Sunday (15 December 2024).

Every donation, no matter the size, will mean YOU can make a crucial difference in saving vulnerable lives from this extreme law change.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from this major threat?

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.