Britain Saw 20,000 Women Under 25 Have Repeat Abortions in 2008, Many Teens
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 8, 2009
London, England (LifeNews.com) — Anne Milton, the Conservative Party’s Shadow Health Minister, obtained new figures from the British National Health Service showing more than 20,000 repeat abortions in 2008 on women under the age of 25. The NHS data shows teenagers accounted for 5,000 of those repeat abortions.
Approximately 3,800 of the women having repeat abortions last year were on their fifth abortion or higher, proving that abortions are routinely used for birth control purposes.
Milton says the NHS data shows a “huge concern," and added, “These figures demonstrate the Government’s failure to produce a coherent and effective sexual health policy for England.”
“Why is it that we are not able to reduce the number of young girls who not only end up with one unwanted pregnancy, but then just go back and have another?" she asked.
Milton added that research shows abortions "can have a damaging effect on mental health."
According to British media reports, Phyllis Bowman, the head of the British Right to Life group, agreed that the nation’s sexual education campaign was failing.
"There is an enormous amount of evidence to show that efforts to provide young people with contraception in an effort to reduce numbers of pregnancies only leads to more and more abortions. It means that young women are more prepared to have sex because they know they can always get an abortion," she said. "That in turn leads to more sexual abuse of young women by men."
"I am prepared to bet that the figures for repeat abortions will be up again next year. Abortion has in effect become another form of contraception," she added.
John Smeaton of SPUC also commented on the new numbers.
"The government’s proposals for compulsory sex education will result in even more promotion of abortion in schools. If the Conservative party opposition wishes to halt the rise in teenage abortions, then it must block the government’s proposals, contained in the Children, Schools and Families bill," he said.
‘Teenage abortions will not start falling until the right of parents to act as the primary educators of their children, recognised in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is manifested in law and policy," he added.
NHS showed 20,247 women under 25 had a repeat abortion last year but that nearly 65,000 women of all ages had at least a second abortion — with many having their third or higher.
The new data comes after a report released in November showing Britain had overtaken France as the nation in Europe with the highest number of abortions annually, at 219,336. The U.K. also had the highest number of abortions on girls under 20, with 48,150.
The numbers place Britain sixth in the world in terms of annual abortions — following China, India Russia, the United States, and Japan.
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