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Newly released figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that nearly one in three conceptions in England and Wales now end in abortion.
The statistics for conceptions in England and Wales for 2023 were made public on Tuesday. The breakdown shows that the total number of conceptions during that year was 871,050. This was against over 630,000 live births – as Britain struggles with a growing fertility crisis.
The number of conceptions that ended in abortion reached its highest ever recorded rate at 32.1% in 2023 – an increase from 2022 which saw 29.1% of pregnancies result in abortions.
Since the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967, the abortion rate per 1,000 women rose from around five to 18.2 by 2020.
In 2022, the rate climbed to 21.1. In 2023 it increased again, to 23.
The percentage of abortions carried out in Britain have steadily increased year by year since 2015, seeing a particular rise since Covid. The ONS notes that an increase has been seen across all age groups and that the greatest proportion of abortion occurs in women aged under 20 – where almost 60 per cent of conceptions result in abortion.
The ONS notes that the number of conceptions in 2023 was the third consecutive annual increase – with a rate of 72.7 conceptions per 1,000 women.
It noted that the number of conceptions leading to abortion has increased by 35.2% since 2019, having previously been stable for more than a decade.
Meanwhile, the number of conceptions leading to births has continued on a downward trajectory that began in 2012, declining by an average of 1.5 per year in that time period.
The increase in abortions since the Covid pandemic has been linked to the introduction of at-home abortions and the expansion of the ‘pills by post’ scheme. The scheme, extended since Covid, allows women to abort pregnancies at home up to ten weeks after a phone or online consultation.
The Life Institute said that the statistics were “not a sign of a healthy society.”
“We once again have more statistics which point to the reality that the number of abortions are soaring,
“The new ONS figures show the highest yearly abortions carried out in Britain by some distance. This is not a sign of a healthy society.
“At the same time, the Governments of Britain, Ireland and further afield express concern about fertility rates being on the brink. What is clear though, is that everything is being done to incentivise abortion and discourage people from having children.
“300,000 abortions a year is nothing short of horrifying. We need the public and the politicians to wake up to the scale of human life that is being lost routinely.”
The group said that the Rally for Life in Belfast is to take place this weekend – a part of the UK where the abortion rate has also climbed.
A record 2,899 abortions took place in the province in 2024/25, marking a 3.7 per cent increase on the previous year.
The March for “life, liberty and faith” is to take place at Belfast City Hall on Saturday, as organisers say that the rights of Christians and particularly pro-life groups are “increasingly under attack.”
They have pointed to laws passed by Stormont that have made it a criminal offence to pray outside an abortion centre.
In February 2026, Belfast City Council voted to approve draft bye laws that groups including Precious Life say will directly threaten freedom of speech, expression and Christian witness. These bye-laws introduce fines for public preaching and praying if the sound exceeds 70 decibels (the volume of a vacuum cleaner or a loud conversation, making normal preaching, praying, and even public speaking “almost impossible in the city centre.”
“Belfast Council has also voted to ban the display of images used by pro-life groups including pictures on banners, posters, and even clothing such as t-shirts. Anyone who displays such images could face fines of up to £1,500. Pro-life information leaflets will also be censored, forced into sealed envelopes with ‘warning’ labels,” said organisers of Saturday’s rally.
In March the House of Lords voted to decriminalise abortion up to birth for women who self-administer their abortion. It also rejected an amendment to reintroduce in-person consultations before abortion medications are issued.
The subject of abortion in the Crime and Policing Bill received 46 minutes of debate before it was passed in the House of Commons, and became law after receiving Royal Assent in April.
While the Bill does not change wider time limits, Clause 208 means women will no longer be criminalised for ending their own pregnancies through abortion.
Critics have claimed that Labour would encourage “lunch-hour” abortions under new plans to change the payment structure for abortion clinics in Britain. Pro-life campaigners said in April that the change would result in a “financial incentive” to rush women through the procedure.
The new payment process was launched this year as part of Wes Streeting’s renewed women’s health strategy for England.
As it stands, under the NHS payment scheme, abortion centres are paid separately for each stage of an abortion, including the consultation, scan and the procedure. This allows a slowing down of the process and provides women with more time to contemplate their decision.
However, under the new approach, centres will receive a bundled payment for providing all stages of the process. The Labour Government has said that this is to financially incentivise clinics to provide “consultations, scans and procedures on the same day”.
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