Abortions in the U.K. Down Slightly in 2002, but Industry Expands
by Maria Gallagher
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
May 8, 2004
London, England (LifeNews.com) — Abortion remains a big business in the UK, according to figures compiled by British health authorities, even though abortions there were down slightly in the latest data made available.
Some 175,904 abortions were reportedly performed on residents of England and Wales by the National Health Service and the private sector in 2002.
The figure represents a decrease from the 176,701 performed in 2001, but a slight increase over the 175,887 performed in 2000, according to junior health minister Lord Warner.
While the figures come as little surprise to the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, Britain’s major pro-life group, they do demonstrate that abortion remains a serious social problem in the UK.
“A single abortion is one too many, even if the total falls slightly,” Paul Danon of SPUC, told LifeNews.com. “Our society is one of the wealthiest in history yet we discard innocent human life at its most vulnerable stage. We are all devalued by this organized, legally-protected killing."
While the number of abortions reported by the National Health Service has declined, the total number of abortions carried out in the private sector has grown.
In 2000, 94,791 abortions were performed in Britain’s private sector. That figure rose to 100,511 in 2001 and 102,749 in 2002.
According to the British government, the National Health Service was responsible for 73,155 abortions in 2002. That’s down from 76,190 in 2001 and 81,096 in 2000.
In Scotland, 11,446 National Health Service abortions were performed in 2002, in addition to 148 private sector abortions. That’s down slightly from the previous year’s totals.
Since 1968, all told, some 4.73 million abortions have been performed on residents of England and Wales.
“I just hope that the recent showing of abortion on TV will bring us to our senses about what we are doing,” Danon said. “The nightmare would be if we simply shrugged and consider abortion routine and normal.”
Danon notes that unborn children are not the only victims of British abortions. Women in the UK are suffering too — both emotionally and physically, as a result of the practice of abortion.
“It is a mess, but it’s one which we can get out of. All we need to do is recognize the rights of all humans, regardless of their developmental stage and physical capacity. Governments and international bodies have a grave responsibility for passing global laws to protect everyone everywhere,” Danon added.
Related web sites:
Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child – https://www.spuc.org.uk
