Statistics

In Great Britain, the majority (98%) of abortions are carried out under ​“Ground C”, with the vast majority (99.9%) of abortions carried out under Ground C alone reported as being performed because of a risk to the woman’s mental health. 

This means that 98% of abortions involve physically healthy women aborting physically healthy babies as almost all abortions are performed for undefined mental health reasons. In reality this is abortion on request.

England and Wales (2022)

• The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities reported that in 2022, there were 252,122 abortions in England and Wales, the highest since records began.
• 86% were chemical abortions (pills rather than surgery).
• “Ground E” abortions are those performed because of fetal abnormality at any gestation up to birth. There were 3,124 abortions performed under Ground E in 2022 (in England and Wales).
• 41% of abortions were for women with at least one previous abortion.
• 82% of abortions were for women whose marital status was given as single.
• 260 abortions took place post 24 weeks gestation.
• Currently around 90% of babies found to have Down’s syndrome in the UK are aborted.

Scotland (2023)

• According to Public Health Scotland, 18,207 abortions were reported in Scotland in 2023. 98.1% (17,854) were chemical and 1.9% (353) were surgical.
• 2023 saw a 10% increase in ​‘service demand’ for abortions and a 13% increase in women self-reporting a previous termination. 
• Women in the most deprived areas were twice as likely to have an abortion than women living in the least deprived areas.
• 98.3% of abortions (17,893) were performed under Ground C. Slightly more than half of terminations undertaken with only Ground C included a diagnostic code. Of these, the most frequent reason for termination recorded (89%) was problems related to ​‘unwanted pregnancy.’
• The highest rates of abortion were found in the 20 – 24 age group.

Northern Ireland (April 2022 — March 2023)

According to Information & Analysis Directorate, Department of Health:

• 2,168 abortions were carried out (an increase of 23.5% from the previous year) with the majority (667) taking place in the Belfast trust.
• 27 (1.2%) were carried out based on disability (Ground E).
• 97.6% (2113) abortions were performed under Ground A (the pregnancy has not exceeded 11 weeks + 6 days). Physically healthy women terminating healthy babies.
• 76.7% of women who had an abortion were aged between 18 – 35.
• Between 31 March 2020 – 31 March 2023, 5,497 abortions have been carried out in Northern Ireland following the introduction of The Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No 2) Regulations 2020.

*https://​www​.who​.int/​h​e​a​l​t​h-top…

When we launched in 2017, there had been 50 years of a different abortion laws between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. England Wales and Scotland had introduced more liberal laws in 1967. Northern Ireland had not and we wanted to see if this resulted in any meaningful differences.

We compared abortion rates, taking into account a whole range of factors, including the numbers of women who travelled to Great Britain from Northern Ireland for abortions. We were able to estimate that more than 100,000 people were alive in Northern Ireland specifically because the 1967 Abortion Act or similar legislation was not introduced. That’s 100,000 people, known and loved because of laws around abortion which protected both women and unborn children as far as humanly possible.

We thought this figure was good news, so we produced and launched a report and some billboards in January 2017 to tell everyone about it. A small number of people complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), questioning our figures and methodology. The ASA’s role is to ensure that the public is not misled regarding advertising, so they investigated our claim and the methodology used in the report. This involved a detailed assessment of all the evidence by an independent health care statistician. Their finding was that there was a ​“reasonable probability” that 100,000 individuals are alive who would not be if Northern Ireland had introduced the 1967 Act.

Although that law was removed by Westminster in 2019, these 100,000 lives still stand as a marker, reminding us that laws matter.

A framework for monitoring, recording and reporting abortion rates in Northern Ireland has not yet been established. Based on Freedom of Information Requests, we know that as of 23 May 2023, 5,648 abortions have been performed in Northern Ireland. That figure continues to rise.**

*See ​“ASA ruling on both lives matter,” advertising standards agency, published 2 August 2017.

** See more: percuity.blog/2023/11/…