Older women push abortion numbers to record high

Rise in age of those seeking terminations as figures reach more than 200,000 for first time

ABORTIONS have reached the highest level ever in the UK, as data reveal that for the first time 200,000 women had their pregnancies terminated last year. The Department of Health and Social Care published figures yesterday that revealed there were 200,608 abortions for women in England and Wales in 2018, an increase of 4 per cent on 192,900 from the previous year. A further 4,687 abortions were carried out on non-residents in 2018.

Experts said the increase was as a result of older women and mothers being more likely to have abortions.

Clare Murphy, director of external affairs at abortion provider the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: “The reasons for the increase in abortions for older women in England and Wales are complex. Accessible contraceptive services are often focused on the needs of younger women and women over the age of 25 can in particular find themselves excluded from schemes providing free pharmacy access to emergency contraception.”

She said greater access to services was also needed for women who were already mothers. In 2018, 56 per cent of abortions (111,633) were for women who had previously had one or more pregnancies, up 5 per cent on the 106,550 the previous year.

“The two-child benefit cap was designed to influence reproductive decision-making and we are certainly aware of cases where that has been a factor in a woman’s decision to end a third, unplanned pregnancy,” she said.

Anti-abortion activists said that the latest data represented a “national tragedy”.

Clare Mccarthy, spokesman for the Right to Life charity, said: “Every one of these abortions represents a failure of our society to protect the lives of babies in the womb and a failure to offer full support to women with unplanned pregnancies.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are committed to maintaining a safe and caring environment for all women who need an abortion. It is encouraging to see that the number of women under 18 having abortions has fallen – however we do want to better understand why rates in other age groups are increasing and we are monitoring this trend closely.”