One in three pregnancies end in abortion, latest statistics for England and Wales reveal.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on conception rates in 2023 have shown that while there has been an increase in pregnancies, a higher increase in abortions has led to fewer babies being born overall.
The ONS data reported that the number of babies aborted in 2023 was 279,970. This is an increase of 13 per cent from the previous year.
The ONS revealed that: “The percentage of conceptions leading to abortion reached a record high of 32.1% in 2023. This percentage has generally been increasing for all age groups since 2015”.
It noted the stark increase in abortion rates since the coronavirus pandemic: “The number of conceptions leading to abortion has increased by 35.2% since 2019, having previously been stable for more than a decade.”
During the pandemic, the Government introduced a temporary measure allowing women under ten weeks pregnant to access abortion pills at home without an in-person consultation with a medical professional. The measure was later made permanent.
The data also highlighted the impact of marriage on abortion rates, showing that babies are over three times more likely to be aborted if their parents are not married.*