Women seeking
abortions in the UK are six times more likely
to have experienced domestic abuse than
women seeking antenatal care, suggests a new study published in BJOG: An
International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The study was carried out on a sample of 274 women looking for
an abortion and 233 women seeking antenatal care in Yorkshire and Hull. It found
that 5.8% of the women looking to terminate their pregnancy were victims of
physical abuse in their current relationship, compared to 0.9% among those
carrying their pregnancy to term and attending an antenatal
clinic.

Women looking for
abortions were also considerably more likely to have suffered emotional abuse
than those in the antenatal clinics – 9.9% compared to
1.8%.

Of the 5.8% of women
seeking abortions who were victims of domestic violence, 34% cited domestic
violence as a contributing factor to their decision to
abort.

However, the most
common reason overall given for abortion were financial constraints and
worries.

The study
demonstrates once again the strong link between poverty, relationship instability, and the decision to abort.