Abortion

Abortion is a medical or surgical procedure intended to end a pregnancy, that is to say to end the life of an unborn child.

• For a long time, access to abortion was heavily restricted in the UK.  The Offences Against The Person Act 1861 made abortion completely illegal.  In the late 1930s, the acquittal of Dr Alec Bourne, who had carried out an abortion on a 14-year-old rape victim, led to a very limited legal toleration of abortion in a few hard cases.  In 1967, however, the Abortion Act was passed, opening the way to a much more liberal regime.  Within five years the annual number of abortions had reached almost 160,000 (it is worth noting, by the way, that Dr Bourne was never in favour of “the right to choose” and later became a determined opponent of abortion).
• Since then, the number of abortions has continued to rise (with minor blips in the mid-70s and early 90s), and there are now around 200,000 abortions per year in the UK.  To put this number in some kind of context, there are about 700,000 live births per year.  This means that one fifth of pregnancies in the UK end in abortion. 
• The rate of abortion - i.e. the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 - reached an all-time high in 2007, before declining slightly in 2008 and 2009, along with the actual number of abortions.
• Most women accessing abortion are aged in their late teens and early and mid twenties.   
• The majority of abortions take place between 8 and 12 weeks of pregnancy (a standard pregnancy being about 40 weeks).

LIFE is opposed to abortion on principle in all circumstances because it ends the life of a unique unborn child.  This extends even to what many people consider the “hard cases”, such as disability, teenage pregnancy, and pregnancy after rape.  Some people raise the issue of “abortion to save the mother's life”.  What they mean by this is that in a very small number of cases, a pregnant woman may have life-threatening health problems which can only be treated by doing something which may have the side effect of ending the pregnancy.  An example of this is chemotherapy, which can be an effective treatment against cancer but can also lead to the death of an unborn child. 

In this situation, it is not really accurate to describe the action as an abortion, as the intention is not to end the life of the unborn child.  The child's death is an unintended side effect.

LIFE was founded to provide a positive alternative to abortion by providing help, support and resources to women in crisis pregnancy.  Contrary to the rhetoric of choice, many women and families in such situations have very limited options.  We are here to give them those options, to provide safe spaces for reflection, and to give them unbiased and non-directional counselling and information.

One other area where LIFE feels women are being let down is the provision of information.  There is a growing body of evidence that abortion can carry serious psychological consequences for women, or can exacerbate existing mental health problems.  Recent Californian research found that the risk of psychiatric admission was 70% higher after induced abortion compared to after childbirth.  It was especially high among younger women- while a large scale New Zealand study published in 2006 - by a pro-abortion research team - indicated a clear association between abortion and increased risks of mental health problems.  While we understand that this research is disputed by some, we feel that it is very important that women are made aware of its existence.  This scientific research is supported by the experience of our professional counsellors, who have many years of experience in talking to women who have suffered terribly after abortion.  Whatever we think of abortion, it should never be taken lightly.

For latest statistics from the Department of Health can be found here (opens in new window)