The number of women having an abortion in England and Wales went over 200,000 for the first time in 2007 and those numbers look set to rise.
These figures come just months after the vote in the House of Commons on changing the number of weeks that an abortion can be carried out. Campaigners wanted the law changed to make it illegal to terminate a pregnancy after 22 weeks, rather than 24 weeks. The lobby failed and 24 weeks remains the legal limit to have an abortion.
People feel very strongly about abortion because it is a deeply personal issue but it's your right to have a choice. Whatever your views, the law in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland) states:
- Any woman or child has the right to an abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy
- Abortions must be carried out in a hospital or specialist licensed clinic
- Two doctors must agree that a termination would cause less damage to woman's physical or mental health than a pregnancy
Occasionally an abortion is carried out after 24 weeks. The reasons for this will be to save the life of the woman or of the child, or if the child is severely physically or mentally disabled. It is illegal to have an abortion after this time if there is no threat to the woman's or child's health.