Research, data analysis, and commentary on abortion, fertility trends, and pro-natal policies.
The Scottish Government received 5,537 responses to its consultation asking whether its temporary approval for abortion at home by telemedicine should be made permanent or if it would be better to revert to the prior, clinic-based arrangements that were in place before the end of March 2020. Respondents were asked to comment on how this temporary approval... Continue Reading →
On 25 May 2021, Public Health Scotland (PHS) released its official abortion statistics for the year ending December 2020. You may have already read that in 2020 there were a total of 13,815 abortions, the highest annual total since 2008, and that 36% of these were repeat abortions, which continues an increasing trend year-on-year. In this short... Continue Reading →
Foreign Aid Budget Cut. MSI Reproductive Choices, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and UNFPA have each lost significant levels of funding from the UK taxpayer. The Government has decided to withhold £131 million of previously agreed funds from UNFPA and has informed MSI and IPPF that £70m expected in June 2021 for its flagship Women’s Integrated... Continue Reading →
Government has decided to withhold £131 million of previously agreed funds from UNFPA and has informed MSI and IPPF that £70m expected in June 2021 for its flagship Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme will not be paid. We welcome these funding cuts. https://christianconcern.com/comment/do-not-use-my-taxes-to-pay-for-abortion-overseas/
Based on data published in its 2020 financial statement,[1] BPAS was paid £37 million by the NHS, largely for its provision of abortion services; the average fee per abortion was approximately £425. We note that BPAS provides other reproductive health services for which it is paid by the NHS, so this calculation is an estimate,... Continue Reading →
A freedom of information request to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board showed the cost of the pills-by-post service provided by BPAS in 2020 was £76.97 for the consultation, and £344.80 for the abortion treatment, a total of £421.77.
Cost of Abortions in England 2018Download Update on 15 January 2026 In the twelve months to March 2025, the NHS paid BPAS an average of £580 per abortion, up by 10% from 2023/24 and a 42% increase in fee per abortion over the last 5 years. The total cost to the NHS for all abortions... Continue Reading →
On 23 March 2021, I presented at an online briefing hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group for MPs from across the UK, along with politicians from the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd. This was an opportunity to share some of the findings from our recent freedom of information investigation. Led by Co-Chair of the... Continue Reading →
If you are going to use reduced waiting times to substantiate your preference for telemedicine abortion, then you need to make sure that you are comparing like-for-like. It is wrong to compare the elapsed time from first contact to in-clinic dispensing, with the time from first contact to posting the abortion pills; posting is not... Continue Reading →
Caroline Gazet, UK Clinical Director for MSI Reproductive Choices, says that she is both saddened and angered by the term ‘DIY abortion’. This made me smile. It is ironic for a senior member of the Marie Stopes team to complain about others using such terminology to describe abortion at-home when they themselves are fixated on... Continue Reading →
On 04 March 2021, I was invited by Christian Concern to give a briefing to a cross-party group of politicians. This was an opportunity to share some of the findings from our recent freedom of information investigation. You can download my slides and watch the briefing here; there is also a link to the full... Continue Reading →
Pills-by-post has brought notable change for vulnerable women living with an abusive partner at home. The approval for telemedicine abortion, in which the woman does not need to first visit a clinic, has made it much easier for an abusive partner to coerce a vulnerable woman into having an abortion in the privacy of her... Continue Reading →
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is promoting a new cohort study into the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of telemedicine early medical abortion by Aiken et al. published in BJOG here. RCOG lauds this as the largest data study into telemedicine abortion, whilst the authors caution that there are gaps and possible inconsistencies... Continue Reading →
In this briefing we bring you three new sets of data about early medical abortion services being provided across England and Wales. Our analysis will help to inform those responding to government consultations, which ask for your views on whether or not the temporary measure introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing women and girls to... Continue Reading →
Click on this image to download a copy of our investigation report.
An independent poll, commissioned by SPUC and conducted by Savanta ComRes, found that more than 90% of the general public in Scotland are concerned about safety, quality and legal issues related to the provision of DIY abortion. Some 93% believe that it is important for checks to be "put in place to ensure women being certified for... Continue Reading →
Poll majority agree: 📢It is concerning that callers giving false information can easily obtain abortion drugs (91%). 📢Staff at abortion providers need to ensure they collect correct medical and personal information to certify a woman for a home abortion (92%). 📢Important that checks are put in place to ensure women meet the legal criteria (93%).
Official government data shows that each year, over 300 women suffer complications from abortion. Statistics from the Department of Health and Social Care for the last five years, shows that each year, 313 women who have an abortion in England and Wales, suffer from complications requiring hospital treatment, including haemorrhage, sepsis, and uterine perforations. This... Continue Reading →
My 2013 MPH dissertation is online at PLOS ONE: "Reach and Cost-Effectiveness of the PrePex Device for Safe Male Circumcision in Uganda".
