General Article Statistics on Abortion

Topic Selected: Abortion
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A note from the House of Commons Library.

 

This Note presents statistics on abortion in England & Wales, as well as Scotland. Numbers of abortions and rates per 1,000 women aged 15–44 are provided and a brief time series is presented. The period of gestation when the abortion took place is also considered as well as the method of abortion.

 

Current legislation

Abortion is the commonly used term for the termination of an established pregnancy.

The Abortion Act 1967 came into effect on 27 April 1968, permitting abortion in Great Britain (not including Northern Ireland) by registered practitioners subject to certain conditions. Section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990) made changes to the Abortion Act. It introduced a time limit of 24 weeks for grounds C and D. Grounds A, B and E are now without limit. Before this change, a 28- week limit had applied for all grounds.

Grounds for permitting abortions under the current UK legislation

A legally induced abortion mus...

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