SPUC has called out the “shocking lack of support for pregnant women” uncovered in a new study which finds that the two-child benefit cap has been influencing women’s decisions to continue with a pregnancy or have an abortion. Michael Robinson SPUC Director of Communications said: “We know that a lack of support is a huge factor which pushes so many women towards abortion. This study tells us that abortion is not about ‘choice’. It is actually about a lack of choice and a lack of support.”
The study, by one of Britain’s largest abortion providers, BPAS, surveyed 240 mothers with two or more children who had an abortion during 2020.
59% of the women surveyed said they were aware of the two-child benefit cap when they had an abortion. Of the women surveyed who were receiving universal or tax credits, 57% confirmed that the two-child benefit cap was “important in their decision making around whether or not to continue the pregnancy”.
Forcing women into a corner
The two-child benefit cap means that a family which has a third child born after April 2017 will no longer qualify for child tax credit. The policy has been accused of “forcing families to make impossible choices.”
The women surveyed by BPAS described how the current economic and job insecurity combined with the two-child benefit cap pressured them to have abortions. Some women said that if the financial climate was healthier, they would have kept their babies.
One woman said: “The two-child cap forces people into a corner of knowing they can’t provide versus abortion...Although I understand it is not the government’s responsibility to be financially responsible for parents having children, I also felt that thanks to this rule I was forced to make this decision.”
Another woman said: “If there was no two-child limit, I would have kept the baby, but I couldn’t afford to feed and clothe it … I’ve really struggled to come to terms with my decision.”
“The disturbing reality behind the veneer of choice”
SPUC’s Michael Robinson said: “These devastating accounts from women illustrate how those in need are routinely left behind.
“For years, SPUC has stressed how abortion is a symbol of inequality and highlights how society has failed to meet the needs of women. So often, women are pushed and pressured towards making a ‘choice’ for a number of societal reasons such as finances, unstable relationships or employment.
“Earlier this year SPUC reported on how women from the UK’s most deprived areas were twice as likely to have an abortion compared to women from the UK’s least deprived areas. This is the disturbing reality behind the veneer of choice.”