Over 200,000 abortions were carried out on women resident in England and Wales last year – the highest since records began.
Official figures show almost all abortions were funded by the NHS and repeat abortions were at their highest level in ten years.
Pro-life group Right to Life told The Christian Institute each abortion represents a ‘failure of society’ towards women and the unborn.
Northern Ireland
The Department of Health and Social Care released the 2018 statistics, which also include the 4,687 abortions on women from outside England and Wales.
The figures showed 61 per cent of non-residents were from the Republic of Ireland and 22 per cent from Northern Ireland.
In total, 205,295 abortions took place – the highest since 2007. For residents there were 200,608, the most since the passing of the Abortion Act in 1967.
Repeat abortions
It was also shown that:
– In total 98 per cent of abortions were funded by the NHS.
– Repeat abortions were up – 56,418 people had previously had one abortion. More than 60 women had undergone eight or more abortions.
– There was a 42 per cent increase in abortions for babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome since 2008. Nine in ten babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome are aborted, according to the most recent statistics.
Problems
Speaking for Right to Life, Clare McCarthy said: “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.”
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children described the figures as alarming, warning that women’s health is being put beneath pro-abortion ideology.
And the Don’t Screen Us Out campaign warned that Down’s syndrome abortions are set to increase even further under Government plans for NIPT.
NIPT is claimed to be 98 per cent accurate in diagnosing Down’s and other genetic conditions and is expected to be made available by NHS England.