Abortion rates in UK decline
POSTED May 22, 2009 - 14:55 | POSTED BY Harleen Kaur
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on May 22, 2009 - 16:20
Findings of DOH
As per the figures made available by the Department of Health (DOH), as compared to 198,499 abortions in 2007, the number of abortions has fallen to 195,296 in 2008. This encouraging development is being seen as a positive step towards the betterment of women’s health.
There has been a decline in the abortion rate of females under the age of 16 and 18 in the last year. The data revealed an abortion rate of 4.2 per 1,000 women in the under-16 age group and 18.9 per 1,000 women in the under-18 age group, which are lower as compared to the figures in 2007.
The DOH revealed 1,097 abortions among girls under-15 in Wales and England in the year 2008.
There were 41,896 abortions among women aged 25 to 29, and 26,985 abortions among women aged 30 to 34.
Declining abortions praised
The health charities are welcoming this decline in abortion rates as they had predicted the abortion rate to surpass the figure of 200,000.
Liz Davies, of Marie Stopes International, welcomed the reduction in teenage abortions. “We are pleased that those teenagers who have aspirations other than motherhood appear to be protecting themselves against unintended pregnancy,” Davies stated.
“Abortion is a critical option for women facing an unwanted pregnancy and we welcome the news that more women needing abortion have been able to access it earlier,” said Julie Bentley, chief executive of Family Planning Association, while welcoming the encouraging trend of fall in abortions.
According to the DOH, nearly 6,862 abortions were reported among non-residents in 2008, which were less than the figures of 7,099 abortions in 2007.
Decline attributed to increased awareness, better access to contraceptives
According to the Health Minister Dawn Primarolo, the decline in teenage pregnancy is primarily due to improved availability of contraceptives. “Last year we invested £26.8m and have made a further £20.5m available this year to improve women's access to contraception, and help reduce the number of abortions and teenage pregnancies,” Primarolo stated.
“Continued investment in contraception services to ensure all sexually active women have the right method of contraception is essential to sustain this trend,” reiterated chief executive of Family Planning Association, Julie Bentley.
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