Shock UK report: Record high abortions, with 87% done by pill in 2023

Data released last week from the UK's Department of Health and Social Care shows that a record number of abortions were committed in England and Wales in 2023.

Key Takeaways:

• A record-number 277,790 abortions were committed in England and Wales in 2023.

• This is an 11% increase from 2022, the year prior.

• A shocking 87% of abortions were done via abortion pill.

• Right to Life UK has cited polling that shows that the majority of respondents are in favor of more abortion restrictions.

The Details:

The report released by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) shows that there were a record 277,970 abortions for residents of England and Wales in 2023 — the highest number since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967. This is 11 percent higher than the 252,122 abortions committed in 2022.

Notable statistics from within the report show:

• 89% of the 277,970 abortions were performed at two to nine weeks gestation, an increase of 26,666 compared to 2022.

• 87% of abortions were chemical abortions via the abortion pill.

• 72% of those chemical abortions involved the woman taking the abortion pill regimen at home, rather than in person with a practitioner.

• 98% of abortions were funded by the NHS.

• 42% of women receiving an abortion had already had at least one abortion, up from 37% in 2023.

• 58% of women had already had a live pregnancy or a stillbirth.

• 300 late-term abortions were done for babies with disabilities at 24 weeks and over.

• 735 abortions were due to a diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Zoom In:

Abortion in the UK is allowed up to 24 weeks for any reason — and through all nine months of pregnancy if the preborn child has a diagnosis of a "disability" — even for something minor, like a Cleft lip, or for Down syndrome.

As Right to Life UK notes, over the past several years abortion restrictions in the UK have become more relaxed, which has likely contributed to the rise in abortions. The organization also pegs the total number of lives lost to abortion across the UK at closer to 300,000, as the latest numbers do not include abortions committed in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right to Life UK, said:

 “It is a national tragedy and a national scandal that so many lives were lost to abortion in England and Wales in 2023. Every one of these was a human being whose life had potential and everyone one of them deserved protection.

Including abortions that took place in Scotland and Northern Ireland, this takes the total lives lost to abortion across the United Kingdom to a record 299,614 in 2023.

We are calling for a national conversation about our abortion laws."

The organization is calling for a reform of the liberal abortion laws, citing polling that shows that many people are in favor of more restrictions surrounding abortion.

“Polling shows that 70% of women want the current time limit on abortion to be lowered and 91% of women want a ban on sex-selective abortion,” the group noted. “Two-thirds of women support the reinstatement of in-person appointments, and only 4% support the current status quo.”

The Bottom Line:

As Robinson noted, “That almost 300,000 lives have been lost to abortion across the UK in just one year is a clear sign that something has gone very wrong in our society. Having children is essential to the future prosperity of our country. Children are to be prized and celebrated, with full support and compassion offered when pregnancies are unplanned."