Activists are calling for amendments to the UK abortion law after figures show a growing amount of women taking abortion pills to terminate their pregnancies
The national pregnancy advisory service commented that the proportion of women ending their pregnancy using the medical procedure, i.e. with use of Mifepristone and Misoprostol, rather than surgical option, has more than doubled in number in the last ten years from 30% in 2006 to 62% in 2016.
In a medical termination of pregnancy, a woman who takes two above mentioned abortion pills to end a pregnancy that has not matured past 10 weeks. A woman whose pregnancy has matured past 10 weeks, will have to choose surgical abortion.
The current UK law impedes provision of ‘best possible care’
The pregnancy advisory services said that the current abortive law in England and Wales is preventing women who undergo a medical pregnancy termination from receiving the best possible care. The organization underlined concerns that stipulations set by the Abortion Act 1967, which meant that women undergoing a medical pregnancy termination are often asked to attend numerous appointments, which can cause problems for those with work commitments and families.
Under the present UK laws for abortion, a woman who causes ending of her own pregnancy from the moment she misses her periods can be punished legally under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act [ OAPA].
UK needs to get in line with countries like France, Sweden and United States
The Chief Executive of the biggest pregnancy advisory service in Britain, opined that the present abortive laws were drawn up some half century ago, when no-one could have imagined that abortion pills could be a safe alternative to surgical procedure.
She commented that women in US, Sweden, France, can take the medicine at their place after it has been prescribed to them. Since most UK women take abortion pills at the clinic, they run the risk of miscarrying while travelling to home.
Abortion rates continue to drop for women under the age group of 30
In total, there were approximately 190,406 pregnancy terminations carried out in Wales and England in 2016, which is slightly lower compared to in 2015 [ 191,014]. The rate of women having pregnancy terminations remains stable at 16 pregnancy terminations per 1000 women aged in between 15 and 44.
More than half [55%] of women who ended pregnancies last year in 2016 were already mothers according statistics provided by Dept. of health. While on the other hand, there has been a 17% rise in the last ten years in the proportion of women who already have children, having abortions.
It is also found that the majority of women [ 70%] who aborted were in a relationship or either were married. The abortion rates over the past decade are reducing for women under 30 years of age, however rising for women aged 30 and over. Women over the age of 35 had 30,471 pregnancy terminations in 2016, up from 28,562 ten years earlier. There were 34,108 terminations of pregnancy among women aged in between 30 and 34, up from 28,153, a decade ago.