A record proportion of pregnancies in England and Wales are now ending in abortion, with 32.1 percent of conceptions terminated in 2023. This figure represents an increase from 29.7 percent in the previous year and is the highest recorded rate.
The number of abortions rose by 32,000 year-on-year to 279,970 in 2023. This spike in terminations nearly accounted for the overall increase in conceptions, which grew from 834,260 in 2022 to 871,050 in 2023. Consequently, the number of maternities, defined as conceptions resulting in births, saw only a minor change.
The data, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), indicates a significant shift since 2010, when the abortion rate stood at 20.8 percent. The reasons for this increase remain unclear, though the ONS has suggested potential contributing factors such as public concerns about the safety of the contraceptive pill, leading some individuals to use less reliable methods.
Economic pressures, including housing costs, are also suggested to be impacting younger couples, with London, the most expensive property market, observing the largest decrease in conception rates over the last decade.
The rise in abortions appears to have accelerated around the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, both events that exacerbated cost of living challenges.
Women aged 30 to 34 years had the highest number and rate of conceptions for the seventh consecutive year, with 118.9 per thousand women. However, this age group also had the lowest percentage of conceptions leading to abortion at 22.4 percent. The ONS does not collect data on miscarriages in these figures.
Conversely, women over 40 experienced a record conception rate of 17.6 per 1,000 women in 2023, up from 17.3 per 1,000 in 2021. Within this age bracket, the proportion of conceptions ending in abortion has increased substantially, rising from 28.3 percent in 2013 to 38 percent in 2023.
Teenage conception rates continue to decline and remain below pre-pandemic levels, with 28 conceptions per 1,000 women under 20. This represents the lowest recorded number, at 19,820, with over half of these conceptions resulting in abortion.
Geographically, the West Midlands reported the highest conception rate at 80.9 per 1,000 women, while the South West had the lowest at 64.8 per 1,000.
In 2022, 12 percent of conceptions within a marriage or civil partnership ended in abortion, compared to 37.9 percent for those not married or in a civil partnership. Only 2.3 percent of those conceiving outside of marriage later married before the birth of the child.
Separate data from the Department of Health, published in January, indicated 277,970 abortions in England and Wales in 2023. The ONS bases its figures on the estimated date of conception, while government data uses the date the abortion occurred.
Charities and health organizations have previously linked the record number of abortions to economic pressures, the rising cost of living, and difficulties in accessing sexual health services. In 2022, temporary pandemic-related measures allowing the use of both abortion pills at home without prior hospital or clinic visits were made permanent in England and Wales.