We can now say with more certainty that in 2022, the total abortions in England and Wales will have been about 250,000, a substantial year-on-year increase of 17%, compared with an annual average increase of less than 3% over the last 53 years.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has only published data for the first six months of 2022, its full-year report has been delayed from 22 June 2023 until May 2024. The interim report showed a 17% increase over the first half of 2022.
BPAS recently published its annual report for the year ending March 2023; in this it shows an annual increase of 18% in the total abortions it provided for the period April 2022 to March 2023. Given that BPAS is the largest provider of abortions in England and Wales, we can now say with more certainty that the official data for 2022, when it is finally published, will show a full-year increase of ~17%.
Surely this unprecedented increase in the number of women accessing abortion must be a red flag to those charged with or concerned about women’s healthcare and wellbeing. 17% in the context of more than fifty years of less than 3% must be telling us something about the current increasing pressures on pregnant women. Is abortion really our best answer when helping women deal with these troubles and concerns?
Percuity 