Abortions figures up again

The number of abortions in England and Wales rose by 17 per cent in the first six months of 2022, latest figures have revealed.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, 123,219 abortions were carried out between January and June 2022 compared to 105,488 during the same period in 2021.

The total number of abortions in 2021 was the highest ever.

DIY abortions

During the first six months of 2022, almost all abortions carried out before 24 weeks were for ‘social reasons’, while 1,428 babies deemed to have a disability were also aborted – 120 of which took place between 24 weeks and birth.

A total of 86 per cent of abortions were chemically induced. The vast majority of these were carried out on unborn babies less than ten weeks old (97 per cent).

Temporary regulations from the coronavirus pandemic became permanent last year, allowing women who are less than ten weeks pregnant to take abortion pills without medical supervision, following pressure from pro-abortion activists.

No consultations

Abortion giant BPAS has now used the new data to push for further access to the morning-after pill, which can cause early stage abortions and encourage irresponsible sexual behaviour.

CEO Clare Murphy said it made “absolutely no sense” for women to attend a medical consultation, claiming it was “nothing but a barrier to her getting what she needs as quickly as possible”.

The morning-after pill, she said, “needs to be available on the shelf of pharmacies and supermarkets”.

But Right To Life UK spokeswoman Catherine Robinson said: “It seems this tragic number of lives being lost to abortion is not enough for abortion campaigners and they are set on doing everything they can to introduce extreme abortion legislation that would likely see even more lives lost to abortion.”

‘Tragic’

Earlier this month, abortion activists used the case of Carla Foster to push for the removal of more legal protections for the unborn, after she was jailed for killing her unborn baby by taking abortion pills when she was around 33 weeks pregnant.

Speaking to Sky News, Labour MP Stella Creasy called for the law to give women a “legal human right to a safe abortion at the time of her choosing”.

The Christian Institute’s Ciarán Kelly said: “The loss of life is always a tragic event, and we grieve for the death of baby Lily. It is appalling that activists who lobbied to end in-person consultations are now weaponising this situation to push for abortion on demand.

“They have persistently ignored warnings that home abortions exacerbate all the risks. Haemorrhaging, cramps and excruciating pain without medical help close at hand is hardly good care for women. We should be seeking to care for women and the unborn, not cause them harm”.