{"id":324806,"date":"2025-01-19T13:46:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T19:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=324806"},"modified":"2025-01-18T20:18:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T02:18:35","slug":"natural-family-planning-increased-abortion-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/natural-family-planning-increased-abortion-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Does natural family planning lead to increased abortion rates?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Does increased use of fertility awareness methods (FAMs) among women lead to more women seeking abortions? That\u2019s the sensational conclusion suggested by <\/span>many sources<\/span><\/a> in response to a <\/span>January 2025 study<\/span><\/a> published in the British medical journal <\/span>BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The opening line of a HealthDay News article on the study, republished by <\/span>U.S. News and World Report<\/span><\/a>, spelled out \u201c<\/span>Relying on natural and fertility awareness methods to prevent pregnancy might be linked to an increase in abortions, a new study suggests.\u201d A BBC headline<\/span> read<\/span><\/a>, \u201cWomen seeking abortions after using \u2018natural\u2019 contraception.\u201d A Drugs.com headline <\/span>read<\/span><\/a>, \u201cMore abortions tied to natural family planning or fertility awareness methods.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the facts on the possible impact of increased <\/span>fertility awareness method<\/span><\/a> use on abortion rates <\/span>\u2014<\/span> based on abortion provider British Pregnancy Advisory Service\u2019s (BPAS) own data <\/span>\u2014 <\/span>are far less attention-grabbing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fertility awareness method users still represent a tiny fraction of UK women\u2026<\/span><\/h3>\n

According to an October 2024 <\/span>BPAS report<\/span><\/a>, a July 2024 BPAS-commissioned survey of contraceptive users found that \u201c1 in 20 respondents are using fertility awareness-based methods (FABM), including 4 per cent who are using FABM with a digital app, and 1 per cent who are using the rhythm method without an app.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026including women seeking abortions<\/span><\/h3>\n

The 2025 <\/span>BMJ <\/span>study analyzed data collected by the BPAS between 2018 and 2023 on what contraception abortion-seekers were using at the time they conceived. In 2018, just 0.4% of respondents seeking an abortion through BPAS reported using a fertility awareness method at the time of contraception. By 2023, that number \u201cjumped\u201d to 2.5% of abortion-seeking women. During that same time, use of hormonal contraception \u2014 be it the pill, patch, etc. \u2014 decreased<\/em> from 19% to 11%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what does that have to do with abortion rates?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

During that same time period, the study authors noted, \u201c<\/span>statistics from Great Britain demonstrate a trend of increasing abortion rates across all ethnicities, levels of deprivation and age groups.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The authors acknowledged that the reasons for the increase are \u201cmultifactorial,\u201d but opined \u201cone aspect that needs scrutiny is any change in contraceptive use and particularly this surge in the use of ehealth including fertility apps, period tracker apps and natural family planning apps. The possible relationship between these less effective methods of contraception and unplanned pregnancy requires further investigation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the authors don’t seem to scrutinize enough is the potential impact of the UK government’s “pills by post” scheme, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 a DIY, at-home, no-test abortion pill protocol allowing women to obtain abortion pills much more easily<\/a>, “following a telephone or e-consultation with a clinician, without the need to first attend a hospital or clinic.”<\/p>\n