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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Record number of abortions in England and Wales amid financial insecurity

Abortion England Wales Clare Murphy NHS Pregnancy
Young woman with abortion pill and glass of water indoors
Almost nine in 10 abortions were induced by taking tablets, with more than half of women able to take both tablets at home. Photograph: Liudmila Chernetska/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A record number of abortions took place in England and Wales last year in a trend experts said was driven by financial uncertainty caused by Covid-19.

There were 214,869 terminations during 2021, the highest number since the procedure became legal in Great Britain through the 1967 Abortion Act, the latest annual abortion statistics published on Tuesday show. Numbers have been going up every year since 2016.

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