PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press release – 57 years of abortion: 10,741,486 lives lost since 1968
27 April 2025 – Today marks the 57th anniversary of the Abortion Act coming into effect in 1968 – 6 months after it received Royal Assent.
Since then, a staggering 10,741,486* unborn babies have lost their lives to abortion across the UK. At the current rate of abortion, according to the most recent figures, one baby is lost to abortion every two minutes, 31 lives are ended every hour.
The number of abortions in England and Wales has reached a record high with 252,122 taking place in 2022, while there were a record 18,207 terminations performed in Scotland in 2023. In Northern Ireland, there were 2,168 abortions in the year ending 31 March 2023, compared with 1,755 in the previous year, an increase of 23.53%.
This significant rise in abortions in England and Wales has accompanied the introduction of ‘DIY’ home abortion services that have been operating in England and Wales since March 2020. Since ‘DIY’ home abortions were introduced, a number of significant problems have arisen.
Abortion statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care show that in England and Wales, there was a total of 252,122 abortions in 2022, an increase of 37,253 abortions from 2021, when there were 214,869 abortions. This is the highest ever number on record.
Opinion polls repeatedly show that the public wants increased protections for unborn babies and more support for mothers facing unplanned pregnancies – rather than the wholesale removal of legal safeguards around abortion.
Only 1% of the population want abortion to be available up to birth and 70% of women want the abortion limit to be reduced to 20 weeks or lower.
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 10,741,486 lives have been lost since the 1967 Abortion Act came into effect, each one a unique and valuable human being who was denied the right to life”.
“Every one of these abortions represents a collective 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”.
“While we may pause to commemorate this tragedy, this day also serves as a call to action for people around the country to renew their efforts to do everything they can to help ensure more lives are saved from abortion in the future”.
“This includes contacting MPs and asking them to ensure that protections for unborn babies are introduced and safeguards are strengthened to protect both mothers and babies – along with volunteering with pregnancy support centres and undertaking other pro-life activities that support mothers and their children in pregnancy and beyond”.
By being proactive and taking action, every single one of us can be part of building a pro-life nation where we protect and defend the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death”.
ENDS
- For additional quotes and media interviews contact press@righttolife.org.uk or 07774 483 658.
- For further information on Right To Life UK visit www.righttolife.org.uk
*10,741,486 cumulative abortions in the UK. Based on the following assumptions:
– This figure is a projection for the United Kingdom through to midnight on 27/04/25
– The total number of abortions per day in England & Wales for 2025, 2024 and 2023 remains the same as the total number of abortions per day in 2022
– The total number of abortions per day in Scotland for 2025 and 2024 remains the same as the total number of abortions per day in 2023
– The total number of abortions per day in Northern Ireland for 2025, 2024 and 2023 remains the same as the total number of abortions per day for 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023
– The rate of abortions throughout the year is evenly distributed
Please note, we have not included data for any abortions that have occurred in Northern Ireland before 2007.