Abortions in England and Wales have reached their high recorded level, government statistics have revealed.

Figures released by the Department for Health and Social Care revealed that 214,869 were carried out in 2021, an increase of 4,009 from 2020.

The rise in abortions corresponded with the first full year that so-called “DIY” home abortion services were operating in England and Wales.

The statistics for 2021 also show a rise in repeat abortions from 87,926 in 2020 up to 91,313 in 2021 – a total of 3,387 – or a 3.85 per cent increase – in a year.

A total of 88 “selective termination” procedures were performed, where a twin, triplet or more were aborted in the womb and 3,370 disability-selective abortions in 2021

There was a 20 per cenbt increase in late-term abortions for babies with disabilities at 24 weeks and over from 229 to 274.

A total of 859 babies with Down’s syndrome were aborted in 2021 compared to 693 in 2020, and there were 40 abortions where the baby had cleft lip or cleft palate, an increase of 135 per cent from 2019.

The Department of Health also reported that the number of abortions funded by the NHS and performed by private abortion providers reached a record high of 165,400. This represents a 282 per cent increase since 1999 when there were 43,266 abortions performed by private providers.

Catherine Robinson of Right To Life UK said: “It is a national tragedy that 214,869 lives were lost to abortion in England and Wales last year.

 “Every one of these abortions represents a failure of our society to protect the lives of babies in the womb and a failure to offer full support to women with unplanned pregnancies”.

 “Over the last couple of years, we have come together as a nation and made great sacrifices to protect the vulnerable from COVID-19. Sadly, at the very same time as protecting one group of vulnerable people, we as a society have also ended thousands of young vulnerable lives through abortion”.

 “This significant rise in abortions has accompanied the first full year that ‘DIY’ home abortion services have been operating in England and Wales. Since governments permitted ‘DIY’ home abortions, many stories of illegal late-term abortions and safety abuses have come to light”.

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

“Seventy per cent of women want the current time limit on abortion to be lowered and 91% of women want a ban on sex-selective abortion.”

She added: “We are calling on the Government to urgently bring forward new protections for unborn children and increased support for women with unplanned pregnancies.

“Polling shows these changes are backed by the public and this would ensure we were working together as a society to reduce the tragic number of lives that are lost to abortion each year”.

(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The post Abortion rate reaches record high in England and Wales appeared first on Catholic Herald.