Abortion legislation
Legal conditions
- Two registered medical practitioners must certify that the required medical grounds have been met.
Source:
Practical conditions
Mandatory pre-abortion examinations
- None
Involved healthcare professionals
- Surgical abortion: obstetrician/gynaecologist (OB/GYN) or another physician.
- Medical abortion: OB/GYN, another physician, midwife or nurse under physician supervision.
Source:
Abortion statistics
Overall number of induced abortions
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2022
includes residents and non-residents
Abortion ratio per 1.000 live births: 415 (2022)
Source: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/birthsummarytablesenglandandwales/2022refreshedpopulations
Abortions performed “on request”: % ()
Source:
Overall number of induced abortions vs. medical abortions
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2022
includes residents only
Induced abortions per gestational age (2022)
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2022
Residents of England and Wales
Place of abortion (2022)
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2022
Residents of England and Wales
Characteristics of women having induced abortion
In 2022, among women who had induced abortion:
- 99.7% lived in England or Wales
- 41% had at least 1 previous induced abortion
- 54% had at least 1 child.
Source:
Fertility and contraception
Women age at first birth
- 29.2 years of age (2022)
Overall contraception data
- No accurate data available, but contraception via SRH services only is available here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/sexual-and-reproductive-health-services/2023-24
Contraception during abortion process
- Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) prescribed during abortion process is placed in abortion facilities: not always chosen by women and so may go to GP or SRH service after.
- IUDs and implants can be inserted at any interval – limitation is appointment availability and regional variation in policies
Source:
Country-specific characteristics
A special thanks to our correspondents for contributing in data collection.
Please contact info@exelgyn.com if you have additional data or would like to comment information
Page last updated: 19 December 2024