Tragically, new figures out of Scotland show that hundreds of girls have had abortions before the age of 16. In 2013, 225 girls had abortions, with 46 in the Lothian area and 40 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. These statistics are disturbing because some areas of Scotland were unable to give statistics, which means the actual figure is likely to be higher.
The Daily Record reports more:
Statistics obtained under freedom of information found around 80 girls aged under 16 underwent more than one termination before reaching the age of consent over the past five years.
The true figure is likely to be even higher as some health boards – including, Greater Glasgow – were unable to provide statistics.
NHS Lothian recorded 77 cases while NHS Forth Valley said they had seen two. Health boards in Fife, Grampian, Lanarkshire, Highlands and Fife said there were too few cases to give the exact number. And in Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire and Arran, Shetland, Borders and Orkney, no cases had been recorded.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Tayside and NHS Western Isles did not keep information on multiple abortions.
A total of 225 girls aged under 16 had abortions in Scotland in 2013, with 46 in the Lothian area and 40 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
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Sexual health charities have called for youngsters to be better educated about the dangers of underage sex.
Paul Tully, of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, said: “We are concerned with instances of repeat abortions. Abortion doesn’t solve the problem, we are not dealing with the reasons why they are having abortions.”
The Scottish Government said: “Rates of teenage pregnancy are at their lowest-ever level.”
Abortion is always a tragedy and has devastating effects on those involved; however, those effects are only heightened for teenagers since they’re making such a grave decision at a critical time in their development. As LifeNews previously reported, one study found that teenage girls who had one or more abortions were ten times more likely to commit suicide than those who never aborted. And another study revealed that the rate of psychiatric hospitalization for teenagers who had abortions is three times higher than that of other teens.
Additionally, teenagers are often victims of sexual abuse and abortion is used to cover up crimes by adult perpetrators. For example, in September a 30-year-old babysitter in England repeatedly raped a 12-year-old girl and then raped her again the same day she aborted their child. The abuser told the girl that the pregnancy was “all her fault” and coached her in how to hide his actions if questioned by police. Thankfully the perpetrator is behind bars, but the 12-year-old may never be able to have children.
Ultimately, abortion aids perpetrators and destroys the lives of girls just like it did to this one. In the United Kingdom, some minors can get abortions without the consent of their parents. While most people agree that parental involvement is imperative, the abortion industry has historically lobbied against measures to protect underage girls.
In the United States, Planned Parenthood has opposed parental involvement laws in 21 states. And what’s worse is in states where parental consent laws are in place, they’ve violated them and put minors at risk. If girls under the age of 16 need parental consent before having medical treatment and surgery, abortion should not be an exception.
