The recently released United Kingdom (UK) abortion statistics for 2013 show a gradual increase. The total number of abortions, 185,331, was 0.1% more than in 2012 (185,122) and 2.1% more than in 2003 (181,582).
The age-standardised abortion rate was highest for women aged 22 (at 30 per 1,000). Other recorded rates were15.9 per 1,000 women aged 15-44, the under-18 rate was 11.7 per 1,000 women and the under-16 abortion rate was 2.6 per 1,000 women respectively.
The recently 2013 statistics also show that for the twelfth consecutive year the number of abortions recorded for women giving Irish addresses has declined from a high of 6,673 Irish abortions in 2001 to 3679 in 2013 representing a reduction of 44.8%. The figures also denote a reduction from 3982 in 2012 to the current level of 3679.
These reductions are to be welcomed; however the fact that the lives of 3679 Irish babies were “terminated” in 2013 is a tragedy and more must be done to ensure that every baby who is conceived will be brought to birth and welcomed into our society.
Every abortion is an immense human tragedy but the significant drop in numbers travelling to Britain for abortion over the past 12 years is a positive development.
Sadly the introduction of abortion legislation into Ireland while it has not yet come into effect will influence future abortion statistics.
Attitudes, which foster the idea of abortion as any kind of a solution to pregnancy must be firmly rejected and perpetrators and facilitators of this barbaric act who operate under the guise of caring for women, must be exposed. Abortion is big business.
Paul Tully, General Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said that the abortion statistics reveal once again a huge toll of child-killing, now almost wholly funded by taxpayers. Over 8 million unborn children have now officially been slaughtered under Britain’s iniquitous abortion law, the Abortion Act 1967. Tully said in a statement
“More abortions than ever are now funded by the NHS [National Health Service], and most of them are performed in private clinics by the so-called abortion charities. Nearly 119,000 unborn children were killed in private hospitals in 2013 at taxpayers’ expense. A further 62,000 unborn children were killed in NHS hospitals – also at taxpayers’ expense.”
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
