UK: Record high of over quarter of a million abortions in 2022

There were a record 252,122 abortions in England and Wales in 2022 according to statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care, an increase of 37,253 (17.34%) from 2021.

After almost a year’s delay, the full abortions statistics in England and Wales were released earlier today and they reveal the highest number of abortions ever recorded in a single year. Of the total number of abortions, the vast majority, 251,377, were for residents of England and Wales, an increase of 37,121.

The statistics for 2022 also reveal a rise in repeat abortions from 91,313 in 2021 up to 102,689 in 2022, 11,376 more, or a 12.46% increase compared with the previous year.

There were 72 ‘selective termination’ procedures in which a twin, triplet or more were aborted in the womb.

Disability selective abortions

In addition, this morning’s figures show there were 3,124 disability-selective abortions in 2022

256 of which took place at 24 weeks and over.

760 babies with Down’s syndrome were aborted in 2022,19 of which took place at 24 weeks and over, andhere were 46 abortions where the baby had a cleft lip or cleft palate, an increase of 15% from 2021. 6 abortions where a baby had cleft lip or cleft palate took place at 24 weeks and over.

Sadly, the figures for cleft lip and palate are likely to be higher than the Department of Health figures say; for example, a 2013 review by Eurocat showed 157 babies were aborted with cleft lip and palate in England and Wales between 2006 and 2010. However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recorded only 14 such abortions.

The Department of Health and Social Care also reported that the number of abortions funded by the NHS performed by private abortion providers reached a record high of 200,258. This represents a 362.85% increase since 1999 when there were 43,266 abortions performed by private providers.

This significant rise in abortions has accompanied the second full year that at-home abortion services have been operating in England and Wales. Since home abortions were introduced, a number of significant problems have arisen.

Polling shows large majorities of women in the UK support a number of changes to abortion laws that would have a positive impact on lowering the number of abortions. The 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.

Polling published in the Daily Telegraph earlier this month shows that 71% of women support the reinstatement of in-person appointments and only 9% are in favour of the status quo. In contrast, only 16% of the public support current proposals to decriminalise abortion.

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