The number of abortions surpasses a record 250,000 in a single year, with experts blaming the cost of living crisis, forcing women to terminate pregnancies ‘for purely financial reasons’

A record 252,122 abortions were recorded in England and Wales in 2022, according to charities, with the UK’s cost of living blamed.

This figure is about 17 percent higher than the previous year, another record breaker since abortion law was introduced in the 1960s.

This equates to one in fifty women in England and Wales aged 15 to 44 having an abortion.

Women aged 22 were the most likely to have an abortion in 2022, with almost 38 abortions, per 1,000 women, almost double the national average.

Charities said the ‘unprecedented’ spike in termination pregnancies was the cost of living, making it unaffordable for many women to have a child.

Heidi Stewart, director of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which provides abortion services, said: ‘No woman should have to end a pregnancy she would otherwise have continued purely for financial reasons.

‘The stories women have shared with us are heartbreaking. The cost of living crisis has put enormous pressure on women and families, with too many people having to choose between financial stability and having a baby.

“With the second highest cost of childcare in the developed world, whichever party is elected on July 4 must prioritize reducing the cost of living and making childcare more affordable.”

She added another reason: the long waits on the NHS for contraceptive appointments, which meant women became pregnant without wanting to, leaving abortion as their only option.

“No woman should become pregnant because the health care system is failing to provide women with the contraception they want and need, when they need it,” she said.

Official abortion data published by the Department of Health and Social Care also shows that 82 percent of women who had an abortion terminated were unmarried, a figure that has remained constant over the past decade.

Women in the Northwest had the highest abortion rate, at 24.2 abortions per 1,000 women.

In contrast, the Southwest has the lowest rate, at 17.6 abortions per 1,000 women.

The vast majority, 88 percent, of abortions performed in 2022 were performed within ten weeks.

Such terminations can be carried out at home using medication and this has become an increasingly common way to end a pregnancy in Britain; according to government data, 61 percent of pregnancy terminations are done this way.

This is an increase of 9 percentage points compared to last year’s figure.

Current rules mean pregnant women in Britain can legally request an abortion until they are 24 weeks pregnant, but it is up to doctors whether this is allowed.

Under the 1967 Abortion Act, terminations are permitted on grounds of physical or mental health, as well as for financial reasons, such as being unable to afford to care for a child.

In Britain there is no access to abortion on demand. A woman cannot terminate a pregnancy without reason; she must have a reason for that.

Abortions can still be legally performed after the 24 week mark, but this only happens under very strict circumstances.

This could, for example, concern the life of the mother as a result of the pregnancy or if the child were born with a serious disability.

Abortions performed after 24 weeks make up a small portion of the total number of abortions.

The vast majority, 88 percent, of abortions performed in 2022 were performed within ten weeks. In 2022, only 260 abortions were performed after the 24-week limit, 0.1 percent of the total

In 2022, only 260 of these types of abortions were performed, 0.1 percent of the total.

Reacting to the data, anti-abortion group Right To Life British spokesperson Catherine Robinson called it a “national tragedy.”

“Each of these abortions represents our society’s failure to protect the lives of babies in the womb and its failure to fully support women with unplanned pregnancies,” she said.

‘This significant increase in abortions has been accompanied by the second full year of abortion services operating outside of a clinical setting in England and Wales.’

‘Ahead of the general election, we are calling on the next government to urgently bring forward new protections for unborn children and provide greater support for women with unplanned pregnancies.’

Down syndrome charities also condemned the fact that 760 pregnancies where the disability was discovered during prenatal screening ended in abortion.

Lynn Murray, spokesperson for campaign group Don’t Screen Us Out campaign, and mother of a child with Down syndrome, said the figure was ‘very worrying’.

‘Despite the leaps that advocacy groups have made in raising awareness in support of people with Down syndrome, abortion in the case of Down syndrome is still so common and widespread in Britain.

‘In fact, we hear all the time from parents that abortion was repeatedly presented to them in hospital as an obvious solution after receiving the news that their baby had Down syndrome.’

The debate over abortion laws in England follows the case of Carla Foster, who, aged 45, was jailed for 28 months in 2023 for illegally taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy during the Covid lockdown

Access to abortion varies around the world, with some countries allowing full access, although pregnancy limits still apply. Others allow abortion only on medical grounds or ban it altogether. Britain is considered a European outlier, allowing abortions only on health and economic grounds, while most neighboring countries are more flexible. Access to abortion in the US has undergone a radical change recently and now varies widely by state

The inclusion of Down syndrome in a list of medical conditions that allow termination of pregnancy after 24 weeks of gestation is controversial and there have been multiple calls to prevent people from terminating pregnancies for this reason.

There have also been several calls to change the law surrounding abortion, from both sides of the debate.

One effort, led by Conservative MP Caroline Ansell, seeks to lower the abortion limit from the current 24 weeks to 22 weeks.

This is based in part on calls from doctors that babies born after 23 weeks now have a significant 40 percent survival rate thanks to medical advances.

It was backed by 30 MPs, including former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, ex-home secretary Sir John Hayes and former health secretary Maggie Throup.

In contrast, another proposal from Labour’s Dame Diana Johnson, who is also chair of the home affairs committee, aims to decriminalize abortion after 24 weeks.

This would not change the legal 24-week limit on abortions, but would prevent women from going to jail if they get an abortion after this period, as in the case of Carla Foster.

Ms Foster, 45, was jailed for 28 months in 2023 for illegally taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy during the Covid lockdown.

The mother of three was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant at the time.