Campaigners have said that the newly released statistics for 2009 paint a deeply depressing picture of modern Britain.
Christian doctors said the statistics demonstrated the failure of liberal sex education policies.
Dr Peter Saunders, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said the figures were very depressing.
‘It is increasingly clear, that abortion is simply being used as a form of contraception by a growing percentage of girls and women, and that tired policies of values-free sex education, condoms and morning-after pills are not working,’ he said.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said repeated pregnancies among teenage girls were often caused by chaotic lifestyles and difficulties in using contraception.
‘With teenage girls, often they feel able to handle sex, emotionally and physically, yet aren't able to handle the planning that comes with contraception,’ she said.
Last year the total number of abortions in England and Wales fell slightly on the previous year - to 189,100. This is down 3.2 per cent on the 195,296 recorded in 2008. Of these, 63,390 of the woman had previously ended a pregnancy, compared with 51,987 a decade ago – a rise of 22 per cent, the Daily Mail reported.
Some 18,000 abortions were carried out on girls aged under 18, including more than 1,000 on girls aged 14 or under. Around half of all teenage pregnancies now end in abortion.
There were also 2,085 abortions (one in 100) for children who would have been born disabled. This included 775 for chromosomal abnormalities including Down's syndrome and 496 for problems with the nervous system.
It is reported that the vast majority of abortions (91 per cent) were carried out at under 13 weeks gestation.
The Daily Telegraph commented on the figures saying that ‘this year’s numbers are particularly depressing’.
‘They reveal that 89 girls have had three abortions before they reach the age of 17. That figure is an appalling testimony, not only to the chaotic nature of those girls' lives, but to the failure of the many hours of sex education they will have received to teach them how to avoid pregnancy,’ the comment said.
‘The most effective way to avoid pregnancy is precisely the one that is not emphasised in sex-education lessons: don't have sex. Despite the orthodoxy that any such message will be ignored, so it is not worth bothering to mention it, our reluctance to promote abstinence may contribute to the very high number of teenage pregnancies in Britain.’
Last month, Marie Stopes International, one of the largest abortion providers worldwide, has broadcasted for the first time in British history its advertisement on abortion services. The 30-second advert, broadcast on Channel 4, drew hundreds complaints from outraged viewers.
(See the CCFON report)
In March 2010, an online survey conducted for Ireland by the same organisation showed that 94% of respondents are against changes in the law to legalise Abortion in this country.
(See the CCFON report)