Under-14 abortions rise by 21%
Thursday, 19 June 2008
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The number of abortions among girls under 14 rose 21 per cent between 2006 and 2007, official figures showed today.
There were 135 abortions in 2006, rising to 163 in 2007.
There was also an 11 per cent rise among girls aged 14, from 907 abortions in 2006 to 1,008 in 2007.
The new figures will undoubtedly fuel the debate over abortion, with MPs last month rejecting calls to lower the upper time limit.
It remains at 24 weeks after they turned down several proposals, ranging from 12 to 22 weeks.
Today's data showed that, among all girls aged under 16, there was a 10 per cent rise, from 3,990 abortions in 2006 to 4,376 in 2007.
Among all those aged under 15, there was a 12 per cent rise, from 1,042 in 2006 to 1,171 in 2007.
Across all age groups, there was a 2.5 per cent increase in the number of women living in England and Wales having an abortion, the figures from the Department of Health showed.
This figure was 198,500 in 2007, compared with 193,700 in 2006.
In 2007, there were a further 7,100 abortions for women not resident in England and Wales, fewer than the 7,400 in 2006.
Of the 7,100 abortions to non-residents in 2007, 1,343 were among women from Northern Ireland, and 4,686 were among women from the Irish Republic.
Among women resident in England and Wales, the abortion rate was highest, at 36 per 1,000 women, for those aged 19.
The under-16 abortion rate was 4.4 and the under-18 rate was 19.8 per 1,000 girls.
Nine out of 10 (89 per cent) abortions were funded by the NHS, with 57 per cent of those being carried out by private providers under an NHS contract.
A total of 90 per cent of abortions were carried out at under 13 weeks gestation, with 70 per cent at under 10 weeks.
Abortions involving the use of pills (rather than a surgical abortion) accounted for 35 per cent of the total number of procedures, compared with 30 per cent in 2006.
One in a hundred (1 per cent) abortions were carried out on the grounds that the child would be born disabled.
Health minister, Dawn Primarolo, said: "Our priority is to reduce the time women have to wait for an abortion at what is already a very difficult time for them.
"These statistics show that we have made considerable progress in this, with over two-thirds of women having their abortion at under 10 weeks in 2007, up from half in 2002.
"Contraception plays a vital role in preventing teenage pregnancy and earlier this year I announced a further investment of £26.8 million to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies."
Gill Frances, chair of the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group, said: "We know what works to reduce abortion amongst teenagers.
"We need high quality sex and relationships education at school and at home and effective contraception.
"Primary care trusts (PCTs) must ensure they are investing in contraceptive services for young people.
"The Department of Health recently allocated £13 million to PCTs to improve contraceptive services, but many of them have been unable to locate the money, which was not ring-fenced and not flagged up.
"In view of today's abortion figures, it is critical that investment in contraception is urgently reviewed and the recent monies located."
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the charity BPAS (the British Pregnancy Advisory Service), said some women fall pregnant despite being careful.
She said: "Women try hard to avoid becoming pregnant when they don't want to become a mother, or aren't able to bring up a child, but unintended pregnancy still remains a significant public health problem.
"Every form of contraception has a failure rate and sometimes couples can fail to use contraception properly.
"Women who are then faced with a difficult decision about a pregnancy need the option of accessible abortion care available to them as early as possible - and as late as necessary."
