Up to 14 or 15 weeks, babies can be aborted using vacuum aspiration, which is the most common surgical technique. In 2021, 8% of abortions were performed by this method in England and Wales.

To perform this operation, the mother’s cervix must be stretched open. The surgeon will then insert a plastic tube into the womb. Sharp-edged openings near the tip of the tube help dismember the baby so that the parts are small enough to be sucked out. The parts of the baby are typically deposited in a jar for disposal.

For abortions up to 24 weeks, the legal limit in Britain except when e.g. the baby has a suspected disability, the procedure is dilation and curettage. 4% of abortions were performed by this method in England and Wales during 2021. This procedure is used when the baby is too large to be sucked out by vacuum aspiration.

In this method, the baby, who is very much alive at the start of the procedure, is literally scraped out of the mother’s womb and dies in the process. This involves the piecemeal surgical destruction of the unborn baby as the parts of the body are separated and removed.

After the operation, a nurse has to examine the baby’s remains to ensure that no parts of the body have been left inside the mother’s womb.

During 2021, nearly 28,000 abortions were performed in England and Wales using one or other of these methods.