Latest UK Abortion Statistics 2021/2022

Since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed, an estimated 10 million babies have been killed by abortion in the UK.

• The abortion rate in Scotland increased by nearly a fifth (19.1%) year between 2021 and 2022.
• There were a total of 16,596 babies killed by abortion in Scotland in 2022, up from 13,937 in 2021.
• Between January and June 2022, 123,219 babies, whose mothers resided in England and Wales, were killed by abortion. This compares with 105,488 over the same period in 2021, and thus represents an increase of 16.8% or 17,731 additional abortions.
• In the first half of the year, 67% of abortions in England and Wales were performed up to and including 7 weeks gestation; with 93% being performed up to and including 12 weeks.
• A recent study estimated that around 73 million babies are killed globally by abortion each yearⁱ.

The Headlines:

• Abortion statistics for England and Wales, released on 21st June 2022, detail that 214,869 babies were killed by abortion in 2021ⁱⁱⁱ. 
• In Scotland, statistics released on 31st May 2022 show that 13,758 babies were killed by abortion in 2021^iv, a slight reduction from the 13,896 abortions in 2020^v.
• In total, 228,627 abortions were recorded in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) in 2021, which means that an average of 626 babies lost their lives to abortion each day in 2021 in GB.
• Since the Abortion Act (1967) was passed, until the end of 2021, almost ten million (9,833,746) babies were killed in abortions in GB^vi.

The Detail:

Key Statistics for England and Wales^vii

• There was a total of 214,869 abortions in 2021, including non-residents. The vast majority of these abortions (214,256) were to residents of England and Wales. This is an overall increase of 4,009 from 2020 and the highest number recorded.
• 42.6% of women undergoing abortions had had one or more previous abortions, a rise from 87,926 in 2020 to 91,313 in 2021. This represents 3,387 more repeat abortions than in 2020, an increase of 3.85%.
• There were 1,125 abortions to girls aged under 16 
• Of these, 321 were to girls aged under 15
• There were 3,370 disability-selective abortions in 2021
  • 859 of these were for Down’s syndrome, an increase of 24.0% from 693 in 2020.
  • 40 of these were for cleft lip and cleft palate, an increase of 14.3% from 35 in 2020.
  • 274 took place after 24 weeks, a 19.7% increase in late term abortions from 229 in 2020.
• There were a total of 2,686 abortions carried out at 20-week gestation and over
• There were a total of 276 late term abortions (24-week gestation and over)
• 88 "selective termination" procedures were performed, where a twin, triplet or more were aborted in the womb, an increase from 65 in 2020.
• 98.5% of abortions are funded by The Department of Health. The number of abortions funded by the NHS performed by private abortion providers such as BPAS and Marie Stopes, was a record high of 165,400 (77.2%).
• 87.3% of abortions were medical abortions (186,976)
• 12.7% of abortions were surgical abortions (27,280)
• Complications were reported in 330 out of 214,256 cases in 2021; a rate of 1 in every 649 abortions (1.5 per 1,000 abortions), which is an increase from 2020 (1.2 per 1,000), and 2011 (1.0 per 1,000). The rate of surgical complications increased from 1.9 in 2020 to 4.9 in 2021.
• Since the Abortion Act (1967) was passed, until the end of 2021, over nine million (9,270,639) babies have been killed in abortions.

Abortion numbers by grounds for residents of England and Wales:^viii

• 98.0% (actual number 209,939) abortions were performed under ground C
• 0.390% (actual number 836) abortions were performed under ground D 
• 1.57% (actual number 3,370) abortions were performed under ground E 
• 0.0518% (actual number 111) abortions were performed under grounds A, B, F and G

Most of the overall increase in the number of abortions is the result of ground C abortions increasing. 

The vast majority (99.9%) of abortions carried out under ground C alone were reported as being performed because of a risk to the woman’s mental health. These were classified as F99 (mental disorder, not otherwise specified) under the International Classification of Disease version 10 (ICD-10). 

There were 565 (16.8%) ground E abortions at 22 weeks and over and 274 (8.13%) ground E abortions at 24 weeks and over.

Key Statistics for Scotland^ix

• There was a total of 13,758 abortions in 2021, including non-residents. The vast majority of these abortions (13,750) were to residents of Scotland. This is a slight reduction from the 13,896 abortions in 2020.
• The rate in the most deprived areas was almost twice as high as in the least deprived areas of Scotland.
• The abortion rate for Scotland was 13.4 per 1000 women aged 15 to 44, which is lower than the rate of 19.2 for England and Wales.
• 39.1% of women undergoing abortions had had one or more previous abortions, a rise from 5,056 in 2020 up to 5,374 in 2021. This represents 318 more repeat abortions than in 2020, an increase of 6.3%.
• There were 98 abortions to girls aged under 16.
• There were 184 disability-selective abortions in 2021.
  • 30 of these were for Down’s syndrome, a decrease of 36.2% since 2020
  • 127 took place after 18 weeks, a 13.6% decrease from 147 in 2020.
• There were 5 abortions done because the mother’s life was at risk, 0.04% of the total number of abortions.
• 99.4% of abortions were medical abortions (13,676)
• 0.60% of abortions were surgical abortions (82)
• Since the Abortion Act (1967) was passed, until the end of 2021, over half a million (563,207) babies have been killed in abortions^x.

Abortion numbers by grounds for Scotland:

• 98.6% (actual number 13,565) abortions were performed under ground C
• 1.3% (actual number 184) abortions were performed under ground E 
• 0.05% (actual number 5) abortions were performed under ground A
• No abortions were performed under grounds B, D, F and G.

The Headlines^xi:

• There were a total of 16,597 babies killed by abortion in Scotland in 2022, up from 13,937 in 2021. 
• This means that the abortion rate in Scotland between 2021 and 2022 rose by almost a fifth (19%).

The Detail: 

• The rate in the most deprived areas was twice as high as in the least deprived areas of Scotland.
• Abortion rates increased steeply between 2021 and 2022 regardless of level of deprivation. However this increase was less pronounced for women living in the least deprived areas.
• While there has been a downward trend in the abortion rate amongst teenagers in Scotland over the last 14 years, 2022 has seen a rise in the number of abortions per woman in the 16-19 age group and across every age group.
• The abortion rate for Scotland was 16.1 per 1000 women aged 15 to 44. This is significantly higher than the rate of 13.5 for 2021.
• 38.8% of women undergoing abortions had had one or more previous abortions.
• There were 114 abortions to girls aged under 16, up from 99 the previous year.
• There were 273 babies killed by abortion for having a disability in 2022.
  • 59 of these were for Down’s syndrome
  • 187 took place after 18 weeks, a 47.2% increase from 2021.
• There were 8 abortions done because the mother’s life was at risk, 0.05% of the total number of abortions.
• 98.8% of abortions were medical abortions (16,392)
• 1.21% of abortions were surgical abortions (200)
• Since the Abortion Act (1967) was passed, until the end of 2021, over half a million (579,804) babies have been killed in abortions in Scotland.

Abortion numbers by grounds for Scotland:

• 98.2% (actual number 16,303) abortions were performed under ground C
• 1.64% (actual number 273) abortions were performed under ground E 
• 0.05% (actual number 8) abortions were performed under ground A
• 6 abortions were performed under ground B
• No abortions were performed under grounds  D, F and G.

Source data for Scotland 2022

The Headlines^xii:

• Between January and June 2022, there were 123,219 babies killed by abortion whose mothers resided in England and Wales. This compares with 105,488 over the same period in 2021. 
• That’s a year on year increase of 16.8% or 17,731 additional abortions.

The Detail: 

Key Statistics for England and Wales

• 40.8% of women undergoing abortions between January and June report having had one or more previous abortions. This compares to 42.6% of women across the full year in 2021.
• In the first half of the year, 67% of abortions in England and Wales were performed up to and including 7 weeks gestation; with 93% being performed up to and including 12 weeks.
• 86.2% of abortions between January and June were medical abortions
• There were 12,782 abortions to girls aged under 20 
• There were 1,428  babies killed by abortion for having a disability between January and June 2022
• 478 of these babies were killed after 20 weeks.
• There were a total of 1,708 abortions carried out at 20-week gestation and over
• There were a total of 122 late term abortions (24-week gestation and over)
• 98.3% of abortions are funded by The Department of Health. The number of abortions funded by the NHS performed by private abortion providers such as BPAS and Marie Stopes, was a record high of 80.2%.
• 86.3% of abortions were medical abortions (106,350)
• 13.7% of abortions were surgical abortions (16,869)

Abortion numbers by grounds for residents of England and Wales:

• 98.6% (actual number 121,433) abortions were performed under ground C
• 0.24% (actual number 295) abortions were performed under ground D 
• 1.16% (actual number 1,428) abortions were performed under ground E 
• 0.051% (actual number 63) abortions were performed under grounds A, B, F and G

There were 120 (8.4%) ground E abortions at 24 weeks and over.

Source Data for England & Wales Half Year 2022

Early medical abortions are defined as taking place within the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy using two abortion pills. 

From 30 March 2020 for England, the 31st of March 2020 for Wales, and the end of March for Scotland, temporary measures were put in place to limit the transmission of COVID-19 by approving the use of both pills for early medical abortion at home, without the need to first attend a hospital or clinic. These were made permanent in Wales from 24 February 2022. On 30 March 2022, Parliament voted in favour of an amendment to the Health and Care Bill, making the temporary approval allowing home use of both pills for early medical abortions permanent in England and Wales. Likewise, home abortions continue in Scotland^xiii.

Full or partial home abortions are now the most common procedure, accounting for 82.7% of all abortions in Scotland in 2022.

Information about the two main methods of abortion, medical and surgical, can be found here.

Gestation Period^xiv

The legal limit for a woman having an abortion is 24 weeks gestation. Abortions may be performed after 24 weeks in certain circumstances, for example, if the mother’s life is at risk or the child would be born disabled.

Under the Abortion Act 1967, which applies in England, Wales and Scotland, a pregnancy may be lawfully terminated by a registered medical practitioner in approved premises, if two medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith, that the abortion is justified under one or more of grounds A to G:

Ground A:

That the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated (Abortion Act, 1967 as amended, section 1(1)(c))

Ground B:

That the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman (section 1(1)(b))

Ground C:

That the pregnancy has NOT exceeded its 24th week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman (section 1(1)(a))

Ground D:

That the pregnancy has NOT exceeded its 24th week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of any existing child(ren) of the family of the pregnant woman (section 1(1)(a))

Ground E:

That there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped (section 1(1)(d))

Ground F:

To save the life of the pregnant woman (section 1(4))

Ground G:

To prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman (section 1(4))