The period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 saw 2168 abortions occur, an increase of 413 (23.53%) over the previous year.

There was also a 26% increase in late-term abortions, with 24 babies aborted at 20 weeks or over, up from 19.

There was a 69% increase in abortions for ‘non-fatal disabilities’ and an 11% increase in abortions for children under 18 years old.

Despite abortion being a devolved issue, English, Welsh and Scottish MPs in Westminster voted in July 2019 to impose an extreme abortion regime on Northern Ireland. No MPs representing the North voted in support of the change.

According to a spokesperson for Right to Life UK, the very large increase since that change “demonstrates that the introduction of an extreme abortion regime to Northern Ireland has likely resulted in the lives of many more babies from Northern Ireland being lost to abortion”.