Abortion statistics show small but significant increase

The number of abortions carried out in England and Wales rose by 3.9% to 193,700 in 2006, official statistics show.

This is in contrast to 2005, when there was a rise of 0.4% from the previous year (186,400 abortions in 2005 compared with 185,700 in 2004).

The Department of Health’s 2006 statistics further showed that, for women resident in England and Wales:

In 2006 there were 7,400 abortions for non-residents carried out in hospitals and clinics in England and Wales (7,900 in 2005).

Ann Furedi, Chief Executive of BPAS, said that this ‘small but significant increase’ in the number of women ending an unwanted pregnancy was expected. BPAS’ doctors saw around 55,000 women for abortion care in 2006.

Ms Furedi said:

‘There are many reasons why women seek to end a pregnancy. Increasingly, women expect to be able to plan their families, and they cannot do this through contraception alone. Contraception sometimes fails and sometimes we fail to use it properly. Women will always need the option of abortion if their usual birth control has let them down.

‘We also know that social attitudes are changing with respect to abortion. Becoming a parent is increasingly viewed as a significant social responsibility and although abortion can be a difficult choice, we know that increasingly society is more understanding of the compelling reasons why a woman may need to end a pregnancy.

‘A rise in the number of abortions is not the problem in itself - the real problem is the number of woman experiencing unintended pregnancy. For some of these, abortion will be the solution to the very serious problem of being faced with an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy.’

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said the rise was ‘disappointing’ and showed a failure to deal with the problem of unplanned pregnancies.

Anne Weyman, Chief Executive of fpa, said that the rise reflected the ‘crisis’ of contraceptive services:

‘Women get blamed for irresponsible behaviour - when the real cause is Primary Care Trusts neglecting their duty to provide comprehensive contraceptive services. The solution is simple – invest in contraception. This dire situation will continue to get worse unless Primary Care Trusts and the Department of Health take urgent action to prioritise contraception and provide services fit for their purpose.’

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said government policy to cut waiting lists had promoted fast-track abortion, and made doctors reluctant to refer women for counselling. Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, said:

‘The government’s approach of promoting early abortion is increasing the overall number of abortions. Gordon Brown should end the Labour Government’s policy of rushing women as quickly as possible through the abortion mill in its frenzy to cut waiting times.’

Mr Tully also called for measures to stop teenagers being allowed to have abortions without the knowledge of their parents.

Abortion has been steadily increasing since it was legalised 40 years ago - there were 22,000 terminations in 1968. In its Evidence-based Guideline on induced abortion, the RCOG states that ‘At least one-third of British women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45’.

The UK public’s continued support for safe, legal abortion was demonstrated in a weighted, representative MORI poll from 2006. Sixty-three per cent of a representative sample of GB adults agreed that ‘if a woman wants an abortion, she should not have to continue with her pregnancy’. Eighteen per cent disagreed with this.

Abortion numbers increase again, BBC News, 19 June 2007

Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2006, Department of Health, 19 June 2007

Also read:

The Department of Health’s 2005 English and Welsh abortion statistics

Statistics and policy section, Abortion Review