Figures released on Thursday show a record-high number of abortions have taken place across England and Wales.
According to statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care, 278,740 abortions took place in the year 2023, an increase of 10.56% from 2022.
The number of abortions recorded in Scotland and Northern Ireland for that year were also at a record high, and raised the total number of abortions to take place across the UK in 2023 to an estimated 299,614.
Figures furthermore suggested that selective abortions had also increased, these being abortions that took place on a gender or disability basis.
As of 2023, 3,205 disability selective abortions took place compared to the 3,124 that were recorded in 2022. Of these, 300 were recorded as ‘late-term’ abortions, meaning they occurred 24 weeks or later into the pregnancy.
Overall, this signalled a 2.59% increase in abortions for disability-related reasons.
It was also revealed that gender-based abortions have risen in recent years, with data pointing to a rise in the deliberate abortion of girls taking place.
Dawn McAvoy from the Evangelical Alliance described the numbers as “staggering” and stated the figures equated to 762 abortions taking place per day, and one every couple of minutes.
She also expressed concern over the two-year delay in reporting these figures and suggested that these delays allowed activists to “introduce” the most extreme abortion policies since 1967, while also causing risk to the health of women and babies.
Commenting on the data, spokesperson for charity Right to Life UK Catherine Robinson also expressed sorrow over the “national tragedy” and “scandal” that these figures pointed to.
She called each aborted baby “a human being whose life had potential”, before calling for “a national conversation” regarding current abortion policy.
Potential policy and legislative amendments upcoming include the ‘abortion up to birth’ bill being considered in the House of Lords later this month.
“Children are to be prized and celebrated”, concluded Robinson.