{"id":313022,"date":"2024-06-05T10:43:24","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T15:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=313022"},"modified":"2024-06-03T18:27:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T23:27:40","slug":"scotland-record-high-abortions-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/scotland-record-high-abortions-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland hits new record high for abortions in 2023, nearly 10% spike in one year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Right to Life UK<\/a>) Scotland had its highest abortion numbers on record with 18,207 abortions taking place in 2023.<\/p>\n

Abortion statistics\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0by Public Health Scotland reveal an increase of 1,600 abortions or 9.63% in one year, with numbers increasing from 16,607 in 2022 to 18,207 in 2023.<\/p>\n

The abortion rate per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 increased from 16.1 in 2022 to 17.6 in 2023. This represents a 9.32% increase from 2022.<\/p>\n

The figures also show a 29.2% increase from 2022 in the number of abortions for girls aged 15 years old and younger, with 113 abortions for that age group in 2022 increasing to 146 in 2023. Repeat abortions in 2023 accounted for 39.92% of all abortions, rising from 6,443 in 2022 to 7,268 in 2023. There was also a 35% increase from 2022 in late-term abortions at 21 weeks gestation or later.<\/p>\n

The figures come just a week after the abortion numbers for England and Wales for 2022 were released, which\u00a0revealed<\/a>\u00a0that there were over a quarter of a million abortions in that year.<\/p>\n

This significant rise in abortions has accompanied the third full year that at-home abortion services have been operating in Scotland. Since home abortions were introduced, a number of\u00a0significant problems<\/a>\u00a0have arisen.<\/p>\n

Polling\u00a0published in the Daily Telegraph<\/a>\u00a0earlier this month shows that 71% of women support the reinstatement of in-person appointments and only 9% are in favour of the status quo. In contrast,\u00a0only 16% of the public<\/a>\u00a0support proposals to decriminalise abortion.<\/p>\n

Polling also shows large majorities of women in the UK support a\u00a0number of changes<\/a>\u00a0to abortion laws that would have a positive impact on lowering the number of abortions. The polling shows that 70% of women want the current time limit on abortion to be lowered and 91% of women want a ban on sex-selective abortion.<\/p>\n

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said: \u201cIt is a great tragedy that 18,207 lives were lost to abortion in Scotland last year, the highest number on record\u201d.<\/p>\n