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New Ireland Figures Show Fewer Women Going to Britain for Abortions : 1st Jul 08
Strong Welcome for Downward Trend in Irish Abortion Figures—For Sixth Year in a Row, Fewer Women Undergoing Abortions
New figures from the British government show fewer women travelling from Ireland to the UK for abortions. Family & Life and other Irish pro-Life groups welcomed the downward trend and also because it was the sixth year that the statistics showed fewer Irish women in Britain for abortions. A Family & Life spokesman said he welcomed the reduction as it pointed to the success of pro-life efforts to highlight the humanity of the unborn baby.
The latest Irish abortion figures released today by the British Department of Health show 4,686 Irish women travelled to Britain for abortions in 2007. That's down from 5,042 for the previous year and is the sixth year such abortions have declined after more than a decade of upward trends.
Commenting on the latest figures, Dr. Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign said, "Obviously the Pro Life Campaign welcomes the downward trend in Ireland’s abortion rate." "At a time when abortions in England and Wales have increased significantly, the drop in the Irish rate proves that upward trends are not inevitable," she added.
Cullen dismissed notions that the number of abortions dropped because Irish women are traveling further to other European nations instead of heading next-door to England. Patrick Buckley of European Life Network added, “It is good to see this downward trend despite the anti-life policies of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency.”ELN/PLC/LifeNews.com/Irish Times.June 20.
Fewer Irish Women Travelling Abroad for Abortions
The number of Irish women seeking abortions overseas has fallen for the sixth successive year, figures released by the British Government show.
The 2007 abortion statistics issued recently by the British Government, for England and Wales, show that 4686 Irish women travelled to the UK for abortions in that year. The figures show a reduction in the abortion level for the sixth year in a row, from a high of over 6500 in 2002 to the present level, and bring the rate back to the level experienced in the mid nineties.
Every reduction in the number of babies killed by abortion is welcome. The reality however in every case, is that there is one dead person and one wounded. The figures also show that the number of abortions for girls under 16 and women over 40 increased marginally while all other categories reduced substantially. The number of women giving Irish addresses at abortion clinics in Britain has fallen by almost 2,000 since 2001, to 4,686 last year.
The decrease - 1,987 - in numbers travelling to Britain, from 6,673 in 2001 to 4,686 last year, means there has been an overall annual decline in women going overseas for abortions of 1,542 since 2001.
The yearly figures for those travelling to Britain are 6,673 in 2001; 6,522 in 2002; 6,320 in 2003; 6,217 in 2004; 5,585 in 2005; 5,042 in 2006.
The numbers per 1,000 women aged 15-44 travelling to Britain fell from 7.5 in 2001 to 7.2 in 2002; 6.9 in 2003; 6.7 in 2004; 5.9 in 2005; 5.2 in 2006 and 4.7 last year.
Enda Saul, spokeswoman for the agency, said there were a number of factors in the decline. ELN/The Irish Times. June 20.
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