PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
53 years of abortion: 9,675,153 lives lost since 1967
Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the Abortion Act coming into effect in 1968 – 6 months after it received Royal Assent.
Since then, a staggering 9,675,153* unborn babies have lost their lives to abortion across England, Wales, and Scotland — more than one death every three minutes; 25 lives ended every hour.
The number of abortions in England & Wales reached an all-time high in 2019 at 209,519, while the number of terminations performed in Scotland was the third-highest on record at 13,583.
Unfortunately, abortion figures across the UK are likely to increase following the introduction of an extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland and policy changes allowing ‘DIY’ home abortions across England, Scotland, and Wales.
New and radical abortion legislation in Northern Ireland, imposed upon the region by the Government in Westminster, allows sex-selective abortion, de facto abortion on demand up to 24 weeks and disability-selective abortion right up to birth – including for Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot.
In March it was revealed that 1,345 terminations have already taken place under the new regime, despite the fact that the Northern Ireland Department of Health has not officially commissioned abortion ‘services’.
The number of abortions taking place in Northern Ireland is now set to increase, with the Conservative Government announcing that it has introduced regulations to Parliament that will give the Northern Ireland Secretary new powers to enable him to force Stormont to expand abortion access across Northern Ireland, through the commissioning of abortion services. These regulations will be voted on in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the introduction of ‘DIY’ home abortion schemes across Great Britain has coincided with record-high abortion numbers in England and Wales.
Abortion statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care show that 109,836 abortions were performed for English and Welsh residents in the 6 months between 1 January and 30 June 2020.
This is 4,296 higher than a six-month average of 105,540 in 2019. While a month-by-month breakdown is unavailable, 2019 saw the highest number of abortions ever recorded for English and Welsh residents over a full year, at 207,384.
Opinion polls repeatedly show that the public wants increased protections for unborn babies and the number of abortions reduced – rather than the wholesale removal of legal safeguards around abortion.
Only 1% of the UK population want abortion to be available up to birth and over 70% of women want the abortion limit to be reduced to 20 weeks or lower.
Polling from 2019 revealed that over 41% of Londoners believe abortion should be illegal in almost all circumstances.
Polling also revealed that two-thirds of women and 70% of 18-34-year-olds in Northern Ireland did not want Europe’s most extreme abortion law imposed on the province by Westminster.
A spokesperson for Right to Life UK, Catherine Robinson said:
“The UK’s abortion law is failing both women and unborn babies. It is a national tragedy that 9,675,153 lives have been lost since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act, each one a valuable human being who was denied the right to life”.
“Every one of these abortions represents a failure of our society to protect the lives of babies in the womb and a failure to offer full support to women with unplanned pregnancies”.
“We are always looking at how we can save more lives by ensuring that protections for unborn babies are introduced and safeguards are strengthened to protect both mothers and babies”.
ENDS
- For additional quotes and media interviews contact press@righttolife.org.uk or 07774 483658.
- For further information on Right To Life UK visit www.righttolife.org.uk