Selasa, 29 Mei 2012

Nearly 200,000 women had an abortion last year... and for one in three it was a repeat procedure

Nearly 200,000 women had an abortion last year... and for one in three it was a repeat procedure

  • There were 189,931 abortions performed for women resident in England and Wales in 2011
  • This was a 0.2% rise on 2010 and 7.7% rise on 2001
  • 36% of women undergoing abortions had one or more previous abortions - a rise of 31% since 2001

By Graham Smith

PUBLISHED: 08:02 EST, 29 May 2012 | UPDATED: 09:21 EST, 29 May 2012


The number of abortions in England and Wales has risen for the second year running, according to new figures.

There were 189,931 abortions performed for women resident in England and Wales in 2011, a 0.2 per cent rise on the 189,574 figure in 2010 and 7.7 per cent more than the 176,364 total in 2001.

The rise comes after the 2010 figure also registered a small increase on the previous year - up 0.3 per cent on the 189,100 total in 2009, according to statistics published on the Department of Health website today.

Pregnancy scare: The number of abortions in England and Wales has risen for the second year running, according to the Department Of Health

Pregnancy scare: The number of abortions in England and Wales has risen for the second year running, according to the Department Of Health

And in 2011, 36 per cent of women undergoing abortions had one or more previous abortions, a figure that has risen from 31 per cent since 2001.

More than a quarter, or 26 per cent, of abortions to women aged under 25 years old were repeat abortions.

In spite of the increase, the abortion rate last year remained unchanged on the 2010 figure at 17.5 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years old.

The abortion rate was highest at 33 per 1,000 for women aged 20, unchanged on the 2010 and 2001 figures.

But teenage pregnancy rates registered a fall with the under-16 abortion rate standing at 3.4 per 1,000 and the under-18 rate at 15 per 1,000 women in 2011.

Both figures were lower than the 2010 and 2001 rates - at 3.9 per 1,000 for under 16s and 16.5 per 1,000 women under 18 in 2010 and 3.7 and 18 per 1,000 women respectively in 2001.

The vast majority of abortions, 91 per cent, were carried out last year at under 13 weeks, with more than three quarters, or 78 per cent, performed at under 10 weeks.

A breakdown of the figures showed that there were 1,000 abortions in 2011 performed on girls under 15 years old, less than 1 per cent of the total, and 683 to women aged 45 or more, less than 0.5 per cent of the total.

By age: The percentage of women who had one of more abortions in England and Wales in 2011

By age: The percentage of women who had one of more abortions in England and Wales in 2011

There were 6,151 abortions for women who are not resident in England and Wales carried out in hospitals and clinics in England and Wales in 2011 compared to 6,535 in 2010. the 2011 figure was the lowest in any year since 1969.

Rebecca Mallinson, of the ProLife Alliance, said: 'Very sadly, the abortion statistics for 2011 give little cause to justify our continued optimism, except thankfully in the under-16 and under-18-year-old groups.

'Both these age groups show lower abortion rates than last year, and this is at least something to be positive about.

'In all other aspects, there is no good news to note. Overall abortion figures are up by 7.7 per cent since 2001.

'Repeat abortion numbers continue to rise, by 1 per cent since last year, and as was noted by the press recently, these include a number of women who have had seven or more abortions.'

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) described abortion as 'a fact of life'.

He said: 'It is a service that one third of women will need in the course of their reproductive lifetimes so they can plan the timing and size of their families, and play a full role in society.

'There is no "right" number of abortions above and beyond ensuring that every woman who needs to end an unwanted pregnancy can do so, and that obstacles are not put in the way of her accessing supportive services as quickly as possible.'

Julie Bentley, chief executive of the Family Planning Association (FPA), said: 'Although there's been a very slight increase, the number of a bortions hasn't changed significantly in the past few years and this is to be welcomed.

'However, we do know that cracks are beginning to appear in contraception services.

'Shockingly, some parts of the NHS deliberately ban women from having certain contraceptive methods and there are over three million women who don't have access to comprehensive services.

'If we are going to bring down abortion numbers, this needs to change. Contraception is an essential not a luxury.'

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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Yeah, and? Think about it, if those 200,000 women hadn't aborted their foetuses, that'd be another 200,000 babies populating our already overpopulated country. Without abortion our population would be off the scale by now.

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So, last year, on average around 520 babies were killed every single day (before even having the chance to be born). That says it all really. - NB, Reading, 29/5/2012 15:59 Tens of thousands of babies killed every day if you count people who use contraceptives, which the christian fundamentalists do unfortunately, which is why a sensible debate about abortion is imporssible. ANy time there's a suggestion that young people should get better advice about contraception the christians besiege us and whine about their rights. Christians must be silenced if sense is to rain, gag a christian save a baby.

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So, last year, on average around 520 women were able to excercise control of their life and 520 babies were prevented from being born unwanted. Sounds good to me.

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So what?

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So, last year, on average around 520 babies were killed every single day (before even having the chance to be born). That says it all really.

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I honestly do not care, as abortion is ones own choice. It's silly that some people have to have it twice or more, then perhaps you need to reconsider how well you're using prevention... We need to get better sex education.

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