This year’s Government statistics reveal record number of women having repeated abortions reaches record high. One third of women who undergo abortions are on their second, third or even eighth pregnancy termination, new figures show.
Although the overall abortion count fell for the first time in a decade, the numbers released by the Department of Health showed that 33 per cent of women had a second or further abortion, compared with 29 per cent in 1998. This means there were 64,715 abortions performed last year where the women had been through at least one previously. The statistics provoke the debate over whether many women are using abortion as a form of contraception.
The data showed there were 1,097 abortions among under-15s in England and Wales in 2008. Of those, 931 were carried out on 14-year-olds while 166 were among girls aged under 14. A total of 0.6 per cent (1,150) of abortions were performed at 22 to 23 weeks gestation and 0.1 per cent (124) were at 24 weeks and over.
Andrea Williams, Director of CCFON commented: 'It is tragic that we were warned that the Abortion Act would eventually lead to women using it as a form of contraception, and this new data confirms that is exactly what is happening. However, the reduction in the number of abortions is good news and reason for hope showing that more and more women are recognising the value of their child and that there are alternative ways of coping with an unplanned pregnancy’.
Click on the links below to go to articles on external websites.