Terminations rise among women in late-30s

THE only age group to experience an increase in the number of abortions last year was women in their mid to late 30s.

There were 595 abortions among women aged 35 to 39 from the Republic in Britain in 2017, compared to 558 the previous year.

This increase bucks the overall trend in other age groups which saw a fall in the numbers travelling for terminations.

Overall, there were 3,091 abortions among women from the Republic in Britain in 2017 compared to 3,265 in 2016.

The trend of rising abortions among women in their 30s mirrors Britain.

In Britain last year, more than a third of abortions were performed on women over 30. One of the factors cited is the rise in pressure on this generation of women due to their careers.

At the same time more women are having children in their 40s.

There were 4,242 births to women aged 40 and over in 2017, with 309 of those aged 45 and older.

Meanwhile, the Irish Family Planning Association said yesterday that when new abortion legislation is in place in the Republic, access to crisis pregnancy counselling will continue.

It will not be left to GPs alone to provide the counselling as part of a medical abortion service, said Maura Leahy, its director of counselling.

“A national crisis pregnancy counselling service is in place and has been for many years. It is free for the women and girls who use the service. There is no waiting list to see a counsellor. Anyone who needs the service will get an appointment within a matter of days,” she added.