Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on conception rates in 2023 have shown that while there has been an increase in pregnancies, a higher increase in abortions has led to fewer babies being born overall.

The ONS data reported that the number of babies aborted in 2023 was 279,970. This is an increase of 13 per cent from the previous year.

Highest on record

The ONS wrote: “The percentage of conceptions leading to abortion reached a record high of 32.1% in 2023. This percentage has generally been increasing for all age groups since 2015”.

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It noted the stark increase in abortion rates since the coronavirus pandemic: “The number of conceptions leading to abortion has increased by 35.2% since 2019, having previously been stable for more than a decade.”

During the pandemic, the Government introduced a temporary measure allowing women under ten weeks pregnant to access abortion pills at home without an in-person consultation with a medical professional. The measure was later made permanent.

The data also highlighted the impact of marriage on abortion rates, showing that babies are over three times more likely to be aborted if their parents are not married.*

Shocking statistics

Angus Saul, Head of Communications for The Christian Institute, said: “This shocking statistic should cause us all to pause, grieve, and reflect on what has gone wrong. Instead, in the past few years, politicians and activists have been charging ahead with laws to eliminate the few remaining protections our country has for the unborn.

“MPs and Peers recently voted to decriminalise women who have abortions all the way up to birth. Is there no line where our representatives will agree ‘This is too far’?”

He added: “The dangerous pills-by-post scheme takes away medical protections, opens wide the doors for abuse, and has already been used to abort babies way past the ten week limit they were intended for. Their easy availability means they have even been used by men to spike pregnant women’s drinks in order to murder their baby.

“It’s time for politicians to wake up to the dangers and end pills-by-post for abortions.”

Fight for families

Bioethicist Dr Calum Miller recently spoke on the Evangelical 360° podcast encouraging people to engage with truth and grace in debates on abortion.

He explained: “It’s definitely the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done, to fight for children who have no voice, to fight for their mothers, their fathers. Ultimately, to fight for families because we know that if a family is intact, a child has a much better chance in life. If a family is broken apart, that child loses so many advantages as a result”.

The campaigner confirmed that he was seeing younger people being more pro-life, saying: “By far the most pro-life generation is under 30s, especially young men”.

He encouraged people to make a difference by being firm in their convictions on abortion, and inviting young people who are “seeing that progressive values have failed” into welcoming communities.

LifeNews Note: This article was originally published at The Christian Institute.