'We must address relaxed abortion regulations' - MP's call to tighten laws as number of terminations hits record high

Newly released figures have shown that close to 300,000 abortions took place across the UK in a single year, something that concerns Strangford MP Jim Shannon.

The figures, which cover 2023, show that in England and Wales the number of terminations was up 11% on the previous year, hitting 277,970.

Northern Ireland records its figures slightly differently; in England and Wales abortion statistics cover calendar years, but the province’s Department of Health releases them by financial year.

During the 2023/24 period, 2,792 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland. That’s an increase of 28.8% on the previous year.

In all three areas, the overwhelming majority were medical terminations, carried out less than 10 weeks into a pregnancy with the use of abortion drugs distributed by approved clinics – which in Northern Ireland is only done through facilities run by NHS health trusts.

In 2023, there were just over 591,000 babies born in England and Wales. Mr Shannon points out that with the rise in terminations, close to half as many pregnancies ended in abortion that year as resulted in a birth.

Data for England and Wales shows that from 2013 to 2023, taking abortion drugs became by far the most common way of having a termination. In 2013, roughly half of all abortions were medical and half surgical; 10 years later, around 90% were medical, often with both pills necessary for a termination being taken in the home.

Over the same time period, the percentage of women who reported having had at least one previous abortion when procuring another one rose steadily, from 37% in 2013 to 42% in 2023.

Termination numbers have sharply increased in England and Wales since 2020; the same is true in Northern Ireland, though the province only decriminalised abortion in 2019.

Mr Shannon argues the numbers demonstrate a need to tackle legislation on the issue, which he describes as “the most relaxed abortion law in Europe”.

Said the DUP politician: “I believe we must address the relaxed regulations which allow abortion up to 28 weeks for reasons other than saving the life of the mother.

“I will continue to work with likeminded colleagues from different parties and religions to make changes to these most liberal of abortion regulations.”

However abortion campaigners in the province argue the current set-up still has too many “barriers” – stating that in 2023, 40 women travelled from Northern Ireland to England for a termination despite being within the timeframe to get abortion drugs here.

Alliance For Choice says that shows “a lack of adequate service provision”, adding some NHS trusts only operate a clinic in a single location. The group also blames issues with a booking system in England, where different laws in Northern Ireland and the Republic have been confused.

“This is not what was promised by the UK government in 2019,” said the body’s co-convener Emma Campbell. “Not one person now needs to travel to England for abortion in the gestational periods mentioned in the stats. We urgently need [Health Minister Mike Nesbitt] to address the booking service and telemedicine gap to address most of the barriers to accessing abortion.”