The UK Abortion Act was passed in 1967, legalising abortion on certain grounds by certified practitioners in England, Wales, and Scotland. Thursday’s report reveals that 209,519 abortions were performed in England and Wales during the 2019 calendar year, the highest number yet recorded.
The “age-standardised abortion rate” for residents is 18.0 per 1,000 women, which is also the highest rate since the Abortion Act was introduced, the report declared. Of the 209,519 abortions performed, 207,384 were carried out on the children of residents in England and Wales.
The report also revealed that 99 percent of all abortions in England and Wales were funded by the NHS in 2019, while 74 percent of abortions took place in the independent sector.
The largest increases in abortion rates by age were among women aged 30-34, which have increased from 15.7 per 1000 in 2009 to 20.9 per 1000 in 2019.
Moreover, 40 percent of the women undergoing abortions in 2019 had had one or more previous abortions, the report states. This proportion has increased steadily from 34 percent in 2009.
“We are looking at a national tragedy here,” said Antonia Tully, Director of Campaigns for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). “This appalling figure shows us that abortion is becoming more and more normalised. Propaganda telling women that abortion is ‘simple and safe’ coupled with easier access to abortion pills is driving up abortion numbers.”
“But behind the figures are real women who have taken an irreversible step and who are likely to be suffering physically or emotionally,” she added. “The lockdown measure to allow DIY home abortions is compounding the myth that abortion is a normal and easy thing to do. It isn’t.”
Ms. Tully insisted that women deserve the truth about the damage that abortion can do to them. “Nothing can bring back a dead baby,” she said.
Year after year, abortion turns out to be by far the number-one cause of death in the world. While global abortions account for the deaths of over 40 million children each year, the second highest cause of death — heart disease — accounts for less than half that, or some 17.8 million deaths.
