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Abortion

Necessary Information on abortion

Abortion in the UK. Complete Information about abortion in the UK in legal clinics accredited by the UK government to practice abortions.

Abortion is the premature discontinuation of the vital development of an embryoor fetus, naturally (miscarriage) or forced (induced abortion).

Induced Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy intentionally, ie drug terminated pregnancy (abortion by pill) or through mechanical intervention (surgical abortion).

The first reference to abortion in English law dates back to the 13th Century. The newest reference to when an abortion can be carried out under UK law is covered in “The Abortion Act 1967” This law however is only applied to the UK mainland(England Scotland and Wales) but not Northern Ireland.  To date in Northern Ireland it is an offence to perform an abortion, however under the Infants Life (Preservation) Act 1929 some specific cases are permitted within these guide lines.

Abortion: reasons for a possible abortion

A woman can have many reasons to abort and can freely choose to do so or not. These are some of the most common reasons:

           - The pregnancy is a result of a rape.
           - We could have problems with our parents.
           - Fetal deformaties.
           - Due to health, because it is harmful to the mother to continue with the pregnancy.
           - We can not financially support our baby, etc.

Abortion: methods

At present there are two methods to abort a pregnancy, abortion pills or medication and surgical abortion. The doctor is who will tell us what is the best alternative, always depending on the woman's medical history, gynecological and obstetric history, her anatomical conditions and characteristics of the pregnancy. The chemical abortion (abortion with pill) can only performed up to 9 weeks of pregnancy(63 days).

Abortion: Statistics of abortions in the UK

Here are the statistics for the number of abortions performed in the UK since 1968:

Year

Nº of Abortions

Year

Nº of Abortions

Year

Nº of Abortions

Year

Nº of Abortions

1968

23,641

1979

149,746

1990

186,912

2001

186,274

1969

54,819

1980

160,903

1991

179,522

2002

185,385

1970

86, 565

1981

162,480

1992

172,069

2003

190,660

1971

126,777

1982

163,045

1993

168,714

2004

194,498

1972

159, 884

1983

162,161

1994

166,876

2005

194,353

1973

167,149

1984

169,993

1995

163,638

2006

201,173

1974

162,940

1985

171,873

1996

177,495

2007

205,598

1975

139,702

1986

172,286

1997

179,746

2008

202,158

1976

129,673

1987

174,276

1998

187,402

2009

195,743

1977

133,004

1988

183,798

1999

183,250

2010

196,109

1978

141,558

1989

183,974

2000

185,375

2011

196,082

 

For the first time since 2011 the number of abortions has decreased, this may be due to the sale and easy availability of emergency contraception (the morning after pill which can be taken in the first 72 hours after sexual intercourse) without a prescription which appears to be preventing pregnancies.

-The region showing the greatest rate of abortions is London

-By contrast, the region that recorded the lowest rate of abortions is North East England