Fall in numbers going to UK for abortions

THE number of women who gave Irish addresses at abortion clinics in England and Wales has fallen, new figures show.

The UK Department of Health figures show that 3,092 women gave an address in the Republic, down from 3,265 in 2016.

In 2017, there were 4,809 abortions carried out in England and Wales for ‘non-residents’. And almost two-thirds, or 64%, of these had travelled from the Republic, while 19% were from Northern Ireland.

According to data released yesterday by the UK government, the ‘number of Republic of Ireland residents having an abortion in England and Wales has also been declining since 2001, when 6,673 women had the procedure’. ‘In 2017, 3,092 women from the Republic of Ireland had an abortion in England and Wales, less than half the number than in 2001 and a further 5% decline from 2016,’ the report read.

The HSE yesterday said: ‘This equates to a decrease in the rate of women travelling to the UK for an abortion from 3.5 per 1,000 women in 2016 to 3.1 per 1,000 in 2017.’

The agency’s Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme said women were continuing to order abortion pills online and advised that they attend A&E or a GP straight away if they experience any adverse symptoms. It cited one online provider as reporting that 1,217 women from the island of Ireland received the medical abortion pill from its service last year – while another cited a figure of 878 women.