British Data Shows Repeat Abortions Increasing at Alarming Rate

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 21, 2006

London, England (LifeNews.com) -- New statistics from the British Department of Health show that more than 100 teenage girls every month have a second abortion and some of those girls are having a multiple abortion. The statistics show some teenagers are using abortion as a method of birth control and may prompt calls for tighter regulations.

According to the figures, 1,316 girls under the age of 18 had a second abortion during 2005 with 90 girls having a third abortion.

Another 44 women had undergone eight or more abortions including 20 who were under the age of 30.

A report in The Independent newspaper shows that 14 women under the age of 25 had their sixth abortion in 2005 and at least one of those women were under the age of 18.

Among the over 30s, 482 women had their fifth abortion in 2005, 92 were on their sixth and 29 were admitted for their seventh abortion.

The new data shows that repeat abortions for all age categories are up from the previous year.

Despite the grisly figures, the Department of Health claims it's making progress in reducing teenage pregnancies with a combination of abstinence and sexual education involving the promotion of birth control.

On its web site, the British health department claims "Between 1998 and 2004, the under-18 conception rate has fallen by 11.1 per cent and the under-16 rate by 15.2 per cent. Both rates are now at their lowest levels for 20 years."

In total, there were 186,416 abortions in the UK in 2005 including more than 60,000 on women who had had a previous abortion. Among the 18 to 24-year-old group, 16,474 had a second abortion while 3,060 were on their third.



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