New figures released by the Office for National Statistics has revealed a quarter of pregnancies in England and Wales resulted in abortion in 2019.
More than 200,000 pregnancies out of 821,809 recorded by residents of England and Wales in 2019 were aborted.
The ONS said: “The percentage of conceptions leading to a legal abortion among all women in England and Wales increased from 24 per cent in 2018 to 25.2 per cent in 2019, the second year in a row this has increased for all age groups”.
Although the annual report on pregnancies recorded in 2020 has not been published yet, the abortion figure is expected to exceed that of 2019.
Pro-life campaigners argue that the rise is due to the temporary measures introduced by governments during national lockdowns, such as DIY home abortions.
In May, more than 600 medical professionals signed an open letter to governments in the four UK nations requesting 'at home' abortion schemes be revoked with immediate effect.
The letter followed public consultations by the government on whether to make the policy permanent and highlighted the risks it poses for women’s health.
Although annual statistics on conceptions among residents in England and Wales are not yet available for 2020, the increased number of abortions recorded that year suggests that the percentage of pregnancies ending in abortion will likely exceed the 2019 figure.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson said: “It is a tragedy that over a quarter of all pregnancies in England and Wales ended due to abortion in 2019”.
“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”.
“This significant rise in abortions in 2020 will likely mean that this statistic will be even higher for 2020. This is especially worrying given that the introduction of the home abortion scheme has put so many women at risk of complications, and has facilitated a number of illegal abortions past the legal term limit for ‘at home’ abortions. We are therefore calling on the UK and Welsh Governments to end these ‘DIY’ home abortion schemes immediately”.