Press Release

2022 abortion numbers show drastic increase on 2021’s all-time high

22 June 2023         Issued by: Christian Concern

Abortion numbers in England & Wales continue to soar and have reached new all-time highs, new statistics released by the Department of Health & Social Care this morning show.

The total number of abortions on residents in England & Wales between 1 January and 30 June 2022 was 123,219, an increase of 17,731 when compared to 105,488 during the first six months of 2021. The figure is also 12,290 higher than the previous H1 high of 110,299 – a result of the Covid-19 ‘pandemic’.

This equates to over 680 abortions every day – over 28 lives ended every single hour.

At this rate, and weighing up other evidence, 2022’s abortion numbers should be expected to eclipse 2021’s total when they’re eventually released in full.

Annual abortion statistics are usually released in full on the third Thursday in June. However, “due to a backlog in the HSA4 form processing”, the full statistics are scheduled for release on 1 January 2024.

‘Each number represents a precious child’

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said: “It is with heavy hearts that we witness the devastating toll upon innocent lives. Each number represents a precious child, fearfully and wonderfully made, but whose lives have been cut short.

“May God, in his mercy, use these sorrowful statistics to ignite a renewed determination within society to protect the lives of unborn babies, to offer compassionate support to those who need it and support families through good policies.

“The sheer scale of these statistics underscores the urgent need for a collective awakening, a return to valuing and protecting every human life, no matter how small or vulnerable. Our culture’s embrace of abortion as a solution to complex problems is a chilling reflection of our diminished respect for the sanctity of life.

“Let us strive for a future where we as a nation chooses compassion and hope in the recognition that every life, from conception to natural end, is a precious gift from God.”

DIY at-home abortions

The significant rise in the number of abortions performed in 2022 coincides with a rise in the number of DIY at-home abortions. The cost-of-living crisis and a lack of pro-family policies – something which has been highlighted by Conservative MP Miriam Cates among others – have likely also played a part in the rise.

Pills by Post abortions were introduced in March 2020, in response to abortion lobby fearmongering over the Covid-19 pandemic. One year later, MPs voted 215 to 188 to make them permanent following heavy lobbying from abortionists.

Despite significant problems having arisen since their introduction, DIY at-home abortions have continued to grow in popularity.

In the first six months of 2022, DIY at-home abortions account for 54% of all abortions, a slight rise on the 52% of all abortions they accounted for in 2021.

This month, it was revealed a mother had used DIY at-home abortion pills to end the life of her baby at least eight weeks after the legal time limit of 24 weeks.

Tragically, this mother isn’t the first example of DIY at-home abortion pills being used to end the life of a baby who would’ve survived out of the womb.

A leaked “urgent email” from 2020, sent by a regional chief midwife at NHS England and NHS Improvement on the “escalating risks” of ‘DIY’ at-home abortions, revealed police had opened a murder investigation into the death of a baby who they believe was born alive despite her mother taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills.

Worse to come?

Earlier this year, the Guardian revealed that the UK’s second-largest abortion provider was seeing “unprecedented demand” for its services.

Dr Jonathan Lord, the director of MSI Reproductive Choices UK, told the Guardian that they had ‘treated’ 47% more people in the first two weeks this year than over the same period in 2022, and gave 51% more phone consultations.

Clare Murphy, the chief executive at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, has also said: “women have been forced to make tough decisions” due to “economic uncertainty.”

Abortion industry continues to call for abortion on-demand

Despite recent record all-time highs, and more to come, both BPAS and MSI continue to call for abortion to be decriminalised – something which would introduce abortion on-demand, for any reason, right up to the point of birth.

The Justice Minister, Edward Ardgar recently declared that the UK’s abortion law was “settled” and that the government did not intend on changing the law.

Pro-abortion MPs likely missed their last opportunity to table an abortion decriminalisation amendment to a Bill when the government shelved the British Bill of Rights last November. In a debate on that proposed motion, pro-life MPs outnumbered their pro-abortion counterparts by more than two to one.