Number of abortions hits record high in England and Wales

The number of abortions in England and Wales rose 11% in 2023 to reach a record high, according to official statistics.

There were 277,970 abortions in 2023 compared with 251,377 in 2022, figures from the Department of Health show.

Charities and health leaders said the data reflects economic pressures and the rising cost of living as well as poor access to sexual health services.

Most abortions are carried out in early pregnancy, with 248,250 (89%) in 2023 performed between two and nine weeks, and most women use pills (87%).

The Department of Health said the number of surgical abortions increased in both 2022 and 2023, having decreased for the previous 20 years.

Data also showed a rise in women aged 18 and under having abortions, as well as those aged 35 and over.

Over the past decade, the crude abortion rate, a basic measure of abortion frequency, for those aged 35 and over has increased steadily from 7.1 per 1,000 women in 2013 to 12.3 per 1,000 women in 2023.

The percentage having an abortion, which was not their first, also rose steadily from 37% in 2013 to 42% in 2023. Overall, 54% of women having abortions in 2023 were already mothers or had a previous stillbirth.

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Dr Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: "There is likely to be a range of factors behind the rise in abortion rates over recent years.

"Economic pressure and the rising cost of living are shaping women's reproductive choices with many choosing to delay or have smaller families.

"At the same time, overstretched GP and sexual health services are making it harder for many women - particularly in more deprived communities - to access contraception when they need it, increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancy."

Katie Saxon, chief strategic communications officer at BPAS, which provides most NHS-funded abortions, said the figures reflect the first full year of abortion care during the cost-of-living crisis.

"No woman should have to end a pregnancy she would otherwise have continued purely for financial reasons. Equally, no woman should become pregnant because she is unable to access the contraception she wants when she needs it."

She added: "Women continue to tell us about long waits for contraceptive appointments, difficulties securing repeat prescriptions and limited choice in the methods available to them."

Right To Life UK spokeswoman Catherine Robinson said it was a "national tragedy and a national scandal that so many lives were lost to abortion".

"Every one of these was a human being whose life had potential and every one of them deserved protection. We are calling for a national conversation about our abortion laws."

(c) Sky News 2026: Number of abortions hits record high in England and Wales