Abortion figures continue to rise in England and Wales

The number of abortions in England and Wales has risen for the sixth year in a row, new figures have revealed.

The Department of Health and Social Care reported that there were 252,122 abortions in England and Wales in 2022, a rise of 17 per cent on 2021 and the highest number on record. No figures are yet available for 2023.

Almost all abortions carried out before 24 weeks gestation were for ‘social reasons’.

DIY abortions

In total, 61 per cent of abortions were chemically induced at home under the ‘pills by post’ scheme.

Prior to the pandemic, women seeking an early abortion were required to attend a face-to-face consultation with a medical professional before they could be given abortion pills, at least one of which was then taken in a supervised medical environment.

However, pro-abortion activists were successful in a campaign to remove this requirement during lockdown, meaning women less than ten weeks pregnant can procure the pills after just a phone or video consultation, with the pills then posted to them.

A recent poll by Whitestone Insight revealed that 71 per cent of women support a return to in-person appointments, while only 9 per cent support maintaining the current rules.

‘Deeply concerning’

The statistics show that 3,124 babies deemed to have a disability were also aborted during 2022, including 760 with Down’s syndrome and 46 with cleft palate and lip.

Lynn Murray, spokesperson for the Don’t Screen Us Out campaign, said: “It is deeply concerning that despite the leaps that advocacy groups have made in raising awareness in support of people with Down’s syndrome, abortion in the case of Down’s syndrome is still so commonplace and widespread in the UK.

“In fact, we hear from parents all the time how abortion was repeatedly presented to them in the hospital as an obvious solution following the receipt of the news that their baby had Down’s syndrome.”

In England and Wales, around 90 per cent of babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome are aborted.