Official Public Health Scotland statistics yesterday revealed that the abortion rate in Scotland rose by 19%, nearly a fifth, between 2021 and 2022. While the abortion rate in 2013 was 11.5 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years, as of last year, that rate has risen to 16.1.
Significantly, chemical abortion (abortion drugs) accounted for 98.8% of all abortions in 2022; over half (56.2%) of women took both drugs at home, while 25.5% took the second drug at home. There were just 200 surgical abortions (1.2%) in 2022 – a radical shift since 1992, when 84% of abortions were surgical.
Women self-reporting one or more previous terminations also increased dramatically between 2021 and 2022.
The age group mostly likely to have an abortion in 2022 was 20 to 24, consistent with previous years.
The number of abortions in 2022 attributed to chromosomal conditions, including Down’s Syndrome and Edwards Syndrome, was 112; nervous system conditions such as spina bifida accounted for 54 abortions.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “We can now see the disastrous effects of the abortion industry using the lockdown to introduce DIY home abortion – a so-called ‘temporary’ measure that was cynically seized on to further normalise abortion.
“This is what abortion idealogues and politicians appeared to want all along, to increase abortion by any means possible, in this case through the proliferation of abortion drugs taken at home.
“As well as causing thousands more unborn deaths, this policy exposed vulnerable women even more to coercion from abusive partners. In 2021, a 86% of GPs in Britain are concerned about the risk of women being coerced into an abortion found that 86% of British GPs were concerned that such a scheme would put such women at risk of coercion.
“Ultimately, DIY home abortion was always about increasing abortion rather than safeguarding women. This is a tragic day for Scottish women.”
