Why Are So Many British Women Getting Abortions?

New government figures suggest that, amid a fertility slump, there has been a sharp rise in abortions in the UK. Our reporter speaks to the women who can explain why.

By Kara Kennedy
01.29.26

Gemma is 28, British, and recovering from an abortion she had just over a month ago. She was far enough along—a few days shy of five months—that she had to be admitted to the hospital. She would have preferred to end the pregnancy earlier—but she didn’t know about it, even after getting checked out by a doctor after suffering from fatigue.

“I was still having periods. I wasn’t gaining weight. I was going to the doctor and getting blood tests, and nobody ever told me I was pregnant,” she told me.

Continued: https://www.thefp.com/p/why-are-so-many-british-women-getting

29.01.2026

Commentary

Abortion Act 1967

Ann Furedi

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

hormonal contraceptive

Abortions at record high in England and Wales ‘driven by cost of living’

Providers and doctors say lack of access to contraception another reason for the 11% rise in procedures in 2023

Hannah Al-Othman
Thu 15 Jan 2026

The rising cost of living and a lack of access to contraception have driven another rise in abortion rates in England and Wales, providers and doctors said.

Government statistics released on Thursday showed that abortions increased by 11% in 2023 compared with the previous year.

The age-standardised abortion rate for women was 23.0 abortions per 1,000 residents, the highest rate since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967.

Continued; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/abortions-record-high-england-wales-cost-of-living-contraception

15.01.2026

News

1967 Abortion Act

abortion rates in England

Dr Alison Wright

Katie Saxon

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

UK – Abortion laws are Victorian era, says grieving mum

June 4, 2025
Elen Wyn, Newyddion S4C

Women's bodies are still controlled by "Victorian era" laws, a mum has said, after police issued new guidelines which allow officers to search grieving women for abortion drugs.

Elen Hughes, from the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, whose baby was stillborn, called the guidance horrifying. They include allowing searches of mothers' mobile phones if a baby dies unexpectedly in the womb.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wgqxl0ywjo

After ‘Shocking’ Police Abortion Guidance, Here’s What Campaigners Want To Happen Next

“We only have a few weeks to win this vital fight for our freedoms," said Labour MP Stella Creasy.

By Amy Glover
27/05/2025

Following the release of new police guidance detailing how to seize phones and search for medications used to terminate pregnancies in the homes of women after unexpected pregnancy loss, campaigners and doctors are urgently calling for abortion to be decriminalised.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has branded the guidance on child death investigation, which comes from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and was updated earlier this year, as “truly shocking”.

Continued: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/doctors-condemn-post-pregnancy-loss-police-guidleines_uk_682c8fc3e4b095274fad867f

UK – Police could search homes and phones after pregnancy loss

New national guidance suggests officers look for menstrual tracking apps or abortion drugs

Saturday 17 May 2025
Phoebe Davis

Police have been issued guidance on how to search women’s homes for abortion drugs and check their phones for menstrual cycle tracking apps after unexpected pregnancy loss.

New guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on “child death investigation” advises officers to search for “drugs that can terminate pregnancy” in cases involving stillbirths. The NPCC, which sets strategic direction for policing across the country UK, also suggests a woman’s digital devices could be seized to help investigators “establish a woman’s knowledge and intention in relation to the pregnancy”. That could include checking a woman’s internet searches, messages to friends and family, and health apps, “such as menstrual cycle and fertility trackers”, it states.

Continued: https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/police-could-search-homes-and-seize-phones-after-sudden-pregnancy-loss

UK woman who took pills during lockdown cleared of illegal abortion

Nicola Packer, 45, was prescribed medication but was accused of believing she was more than 10 weeks pregnant

Hannah Al-Othman, North of England correspondent
Thu 8 May 2025

A woman has been cleared of illegally terminating a pregnancy, after taking abortion pills during lockdown.

Nicola Packer took the pills at home in November 2020. She had been prescribed mifepristone and misoprostol after a remote consultation.

She later delivered a foetus, which the court heard was estimated to be about 26 weeks in gestation, which she brought with her to Chelsea and Westminster hospital, Isleworth crown court heard.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/08/uk-woman-who-took-pills-during-lockdown-cleared-of-abortion

08.05.2025