A record rate of abortions in England and Wales in 2018 has been described as a ‘national tragedy’ by a pro-life group. It now means one in four pregnancies end in abortion.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics showed that 24% of recorded pregnancies in England and Wales were legally terminated, the highest proportion since records began in 1990. Specifically in 2018, the records report there were 839,043 conceptions for English and Welsh residents and 200,608 abortions.

This means that for every three babies who were born, one was aborted.

Spokesperson for Right to Life UK, Catherine Robinson, called the figures alarming and said they reveal a national tragedy. “Every one of these abortions represents a failure of our society to protect the lives of babies in the womb and a failure to offer full support to women with unplanned pregnancies,” she said

“Polling shows large majorities of women in the UK support changes to our abortion laws that would have a positive impact on lowering the number of abortions.

“We are calling on the Government to urgently bring forward sensible new restrictions and increased support for women with unplanned pregnancies. This would ensure we were working together as a society to reduce the tragic number of abortions that happen each year”.