A quarter of a million abortions took place in England and Wales in 2022, the highest number ever recorded. It means there was one abortion for every 2.6 births.

The 252,122 total represented an increase of 37,253 (17.34%) from the previous year’s figures according to a release from the Department of Health and Social Care.

Commenting on the figures, Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said it is a “national tragedy” that so many lives were lost to abortion.

“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”.

“Ahead of the General Election, we are calling on the next Government to urgently bring forward new protections for unborn children and increased support for women with unplanned pregnancies. Polling shows these changes are backed by the public and this would ensure we are working together as a society to reduce the tragic number of lives that are lost to abortion each year”.