Abortion <a href="https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/northern-ireland-abortion-statistics-publication-202324#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20abortions%20carried%20out%20in%20Northern%20Ireland%20was,aged%2035%20years%20and%20over.">statistics</a> released by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland show that 2,792 lives were ended through abortion in the year from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, an increase of 624 (28.78 per cent) from the year ending 31 March 2023.
<br>The statistics represent the largest increase in Northern Ireland in a single year since abortion on demand was introduced to Northern Ireland, and a 77 per cent increase compared to the year ending 31 March 2021, when there were 1,574 abortions.
<br>It is also the largest year-on-year percentage increase in lives lost to abortion in any region of the UK over the last 50 years.
<br>There was a 61.7 per cent increase in late abortions at 13 weeks and over. There was also a 56.25 per cent increase in disability-selective abortions for ‘non-fatal disabilities’ carried out under Ground E of the 2020 Regulations, compared to the year ending 31 March 2022.
<br>Twenty-five babies with ‘non-fatal disabilities’ were aborted under Ground E, an increase of 56.25 per cent compared to the 16 babies aborted during the year ending 31 March 2022.<br>Under Ground E, babies with Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot can be aborted right through to birth. The gestations at which these Ground E abortions took place are not published in the statistics. There was a 20 per cent increase in abortions for mothers under 18 years old.
<br>The Belfast Trust performed the most abortions, carrying out 793 abortions, an increase of 125 (18.71 per cent) from the year ending 31 March 2023.
<br>Despite abortion being a devolved issue, English, Welsh and Scottish MPs in Westminster voted in July 2019 to impose an extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland. No MPs representing a Northern Ireland constituency voted in support of imposing the legislation on Northern Ireland.
<br>The abortion data represents a large increase compared to the number of abortions that were previously taking place in England and Wales for Northern Ireland residents, as well as the small number of abortions that had taken place in Northern Ireland itself. This demonstrates that the introduction of an extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland has likely resulted in the lives of many more babies from Northern Ireland being lost to abortion.
<br>In 2018, 1,053 abortions for Northern Ireland residents were carried out in England and Wales, and 1,014 in 2019. For the year ending 31 March 2018, 12 abortions took place in Northern Ireland, and 8 in the year ending 31 March 2019.
<br>Before this extreme abortion regime was imposed on Northern Ireland, there were strong protections for the unborn, with abortion limited to situations where a mother’s life was in danger.<br>As a result of these previous pro-life laws, it was estimated in January 2017 that 100,000 people were alive in Northern Ireland who would not have been had abortion been available as it was in the rest of the UK under the 1967 Abortion Act.
<br>An estimated one in ten people under 50 were alive because of Northern Ireland’s distinctive abortion laws. The Northern Ireland group Both Lives Matter, which commissioned an economist to conduct this analysis, stated that close to 3,000 people were “being born each year who might not otherwise be”. That’s equivalent to around 100 school classes every year. The 100,000 figure was confirmed by the Advertising Standards Authority in 2017.
<br>Before the extreme abortion law was imposed, polling from ComRes showed that a strong majority of women in Northern Ireland rejected interference from Westminster on this sensitive issue, with two-thirds agreeing that this was a decision for Northern Ireland. The strongest support among age groups surveyed came from the youngest group (18–34-year-olds), with 70 per cent agreeing that they did not want the abortion law imposed on Northern Ireland from Westminster.
<br>Prior to the new abortion imposition, disability-selective abortion for conditions such as Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot was not permitted, and there was a culture of welcoming and supporting people with these disabilities rather than eliminating them.
<br>This was reflected in 2016 figures from the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, which show that while 52 children were born with Down’s syndrome in Northern Ireland, in the same year, only one child from Northern Ireland with Down’s syndrome was aborted in England and Wales.<br>Prior to the extreme abortion regime, Northern Ireland was recognised as a society that valued people with disabilities as equally human.
At the time, Lord Shinkwin, who himself has a disability, said: “Northern Ireland is the safest place in our United Kingdom to be diagnosed with a disability before birth.”
<br>The extreme abortion regime imposed on Northern Ireland included a provision that effectively legalised abortion up to birth for babies with disabilities, including Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot.
<br>Carla Lockhart MP, for Upper Bann, has issued the following statement in response to the figures:<br>“I am calling on MLAs to take urgent action to bring forward legislation to Stormont to repeal this horrific abortion law that was forced on Northern Ireland by Westminster and return Northern Ireland to being a country with a strong pro-life law that protects and supports both lives—mother and child.”
<br>“It’s heartbreaking to hear that 2,792 precious lives were lost to abortion in Northern Ireland, representing a 29 per cent increase.”
<br>“This is the largest increase in Northern Ireland in a single year since abortion on demand was forced on Northern Ireland by Westminster. It’s also the biggest percentage increase in abortions in any region of the UK over the last 50 years.”
<br>“The figures also show a tragic 62 per cent increase in late abortions performed on babies between 13 weeks and birth.”
<br>“A large number of babies with disabilities have also had their lives ended by abortion. Tragically, in Northern Ireland, babies with Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot can be aborted right through to birth.”
<br>Right to Life UK, a pro-life charity, is also calling for the Westminster-imposed law to be repealed.<br>A spokesperson for Right to Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said:<br>“Stormont must act now to take back control and remove this inhumane abortion regime that was forced on Northern Ireland by Westminster.”
<em>Photo: Pro-life protest organised by NI Voiceless takes place at Stormont on November 30, 2019</em>
<em>Photo credit: NI Voiceless</em>
