About the two-child benefit cap

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.”   

In 2020 BPAS, one of Britain’s biggest abortion providers, identified that the Governments two-child Universal Credit limit was a “significant factor” in many women deciding to abort their child.

A survey conducted by BPAS confirmed that, “Among women who were aware of the two-child limit and likely to be affected (women in receipt of Universal Credit or Tax Credits), 57% said that the policy was important in their decision-making around whether or not to continue the pregnancy.”

The women surveyed also 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 two-child benefit cap targets the poor and vulnerable. Please help mothers choose life and overturn the cruel and punitive two-child benefit cap.