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Press release – Nearly 1 in 4 babies in England and Wales were aborted in 2018

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nearly 1 in 4 babies in England and Wales were aborted in 2018

02 August 2019 – Live births for 2018 in England and Wales released by the Office of National Statistics show that of a total of 862,371 pregnancies (excluding stillbirths and natural miscarriages) there were 657,076 live births, and 205,295 abortions.

This represents 23.8% of pregnancies (excluding stillbirths and natural miscarriages) or a ratio of close to one baby aborted for every three that are born. This is up from 20.7% in 2012 (excluding stillbirths and natural miscarriages) which represented a ratio of close to one baby aborted for every four babies that were born.

This compares to Northern Ireland, where 4.7% of pregnancies ended in abortion (including abortions that occurred in Northern Ireland and women that travelled to England and Wales). This figure represents less than 1 in 20 pregnancies (excluding stillbirths and natural miscarriages) ending in abortion in Northern Ireland.

The figures show that: 

  • In England and Wales, almost one in four pregnancies* (23.8%) in 2018 ended in abortion.
    • There were a total of 657,076 live births in 2018, a decrease of 22,030 live births from 2017.
    • There were a total of 205,295 abortions, an increase of 7,762 from 2017.
  • 2018 had the highest proportion on of abortions to live births for every year since 1969 (the first year complete records are availble), except for 2001, which had 23.9% of all pregnancies ending in abortion.
  • In 1969, 6.4% of all pregnancies* ended in abortion, in 2018, 23.8% of all pregnancies* ended in abortion.
    • This represents a 270% increase in the proportion of pregnancies ending in abortion in England and Wales since 1969.
  • In Northern Ireland in 2018 there were 22,833 live births, and 1065 abortions from residents of Northern Ireland (including women who travelled to England and Wales and those who had legal abortions in NI)
    • 4.7% of all pregnancies* ended in abortion.

A spokesperson for Right to Life, Catherine Robinson said:

“It is a national tragedy that almost 1 in 4 pregnancies (excluding still births and natural miscarriage) in England and Wales ended in abortion in 2018. This represents one of the highest proportions of abortions to live births since abortion was introduced in 1967 – the only year with a higher proportion was 2001 where 23.9% of all pregnancies ended in abortion.”

“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.”

“On the other hand, these figures show the dramatic difference that laws surrounding abortion make. In 2018, for women resident in Northern Ireland, less than 1 in 20 of all pregnancies* ended in abortion (including the women who travelled to England and Wales for abortions), whereas in England and Wales, almost 1 in 4 of all pregnancies ended in abortion*.”

“If the new abortion regime that Westminster is imposing on Northern Ireland comes into force on the 21st October, there will likely be a rapid increase in the number of pregnancies ending in abortion in Northern Ireland. This will likely be made worse by the fact the law being introduced is so extreme – permitting abortion up to 28 weeks with no legal safeguards.

“Questions must be asked about why an increasing proportion of pregnant women are ending their pregnancies via abortion.”

“Proposals from abortion campaigners to remove legal restrictions around abortion and introduce abortion up to birth would likely see these numbers get even worse. The only winners in this sad state of affairs are abortion providers who can capitalise on this situation, and perhaps, are even part of the cause of it, insofar as they want ever more abortions to increase their income.”

“Polling shows large majorities of women in the UK support changes to our abortion laws that would have a positive impact on lowering the number of abortions. 70% of women want the current time limit on abortion to be lowered and 91% of women want a ban on sex-selective abortion.

“We are calling on the Government to urgently bring forward sensible new restrictions and increased support for women with unplanned pregnancies. This would ensure we were working together as a society to reduce the tragic number of abortions that happen each year.

“This increase in abortions comes as private abortion clinics have been accused by the Care Quality Commission of paying staff bonuses for persuading women to undergo abortions. 

“Vulnerable women should not be seen as a revenue opportunity but sadly we know this is not the reality as abortion itself is a multi-million pound industry. Private abortion clinics have a vested monetary interest in increasing the numbers of abortions they perform every year.”

*  Excluding natural miscarriage and still birth

ENDS