There were 214,869 terminations during 2021, the highest number since the procedure was legalized in the UK through the 1967 abortion Act, according to the latest annual abortion statistics released on Tuesday. The numbers are increasing every year since 2016. “The pandemic and the policies the government has responded to have had a clear impact on women’s pregnancy choices,” said Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), a major abortion provider. “Faced with financial uncertainty and job insecurity, women and their partners sometimes make difficult decisions about whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy.” New data on abortions also show that:
Per age group, the abortion rate was higher among 22-year-old women, at 31 per 1,000. Abortion rates are highest in the northwest at 22 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 and lower in the southwest at 15.4 per 1,000 women aged 15-44. 99% of abortions were funded by the NHS, although 77% were private providers. 161 women from Northern Ireland traveled to England or Wales for an abortion last year, although the procedure was decriminalized in their country of origin in 2019.
The increase in abortion rates was more pronounced in women aged 30 to 34 years. In the last decade it has increased significantly from 17.2 per 1,000 in 2011 to 22.1 per 1,000 last year. However, rates are stable among women aged 35 and over and decline among those under 18. Four-fifths (82%) of those who had an abortion reported their marital status as unmarried, although 49% said they were single but had a partner. The growing number of women graduating were already mothers – 57% last year, up from 51% in 2011. The number will continue to grow, said Jonathan Lord, medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices, another major abortion care provider. “The data show that abortion is an essential option and with the continuing problems of access to contraception combined with the cost of living crisis, we will not be surprised to see more demand in the coming months.” Data published by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare also showed that almost nine out of 10 (87%) abortions were medically induced by the woman taking two tablets and that a similar percentage (89%) occurred before 10 weeks of pregnancy. More than half (52%) of women were able to take both pills at home rather than one in a medical unit, thanks to the post-abortion medical abortion program introduced by the NHS in response to Covid. While Wales decided to make the plan permanent, ministers agreed to do the same only in England after a parliamentary uprising in a free vote on the issue in March. Murphy said some terminations occurred because the fetus had a genetic defect, such as a split back or brainlessness, that could have been avoided if the government had ensured that the flour was regularly fortified with folic acid. Ministers promised last September to introduce mandatory fortification of non-whole wheat flour for this reason, a policy used in Australia, Canada and other countries. However, nothing has changed yet because the plan is subject to public consultation. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said: “Ensuring women’s access to abortion services in a safe and secure manner remains a priority. “We are continuing to work on plans to improve sexual and reproductive health services, including access to long-acting reversible contraception, and we will publish an action plan on sexual and reproductive health later this year.”
