The Daily Telegraph released some statistics that are rather appalling this week. These statistics summarize some information about the abortion rate in England in 2009:
- 17,916 abortions were performed on girls age 18 or younger.
- 3823 abortions were performed on girls age 17 or younger.
- 1047 girls age 14 or younger had abortions.
- One in three of those who had abortions in England last year had already had at least one abortion.
- 2637 women had had three abortions.
- 779 had had four abortions.
- 214 had had five abortions.
- 48 women had had seven or more abortions.
To put these figures in perspective, the article goes on to mention that these figures represent a decrease in the numbers or abortions performed on young girls and women. To quote Ann Fured, CEO of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, “It's interesting to see that fewer abortions took place last year, for the second year running. However abortion figures tend to fluctuate slightly year-on-year so we can't call this a trend yet, especially with the background of the last few decades' gradual rise in the numbers of abortions.” So I’m not sure whether to consider the decrease in the number of abortions performed to be good news or not.
Either way, it’s sad to me.
Sadder still is the fact that the day previous to the release of these statistics, the first British advertisement for abortion was televised. Not only that, England’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended “teenagers and other young women be encouraged to stockpile the morning after pill at home in case of emergencies”. (Perhaps this sort of encouragement from England’s health ministry explains the slight rise in the rate of abortions performed via use of morning after pills last year.)
A voice of reason came from a gent named Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust. This organization does research on what lies behind the breakdown of the family. He said that the statistics are an “inevitable consequence of a society that has made an idol of sexual pleasure”, and concluded that, “It is not ignorance of contraception that leads to alarming rates of teenage abortions. The contraceptive culture has made girls feel they have a right to have babies to order and to do away with any that would interfere with their chosen lifestyle.”
The complete article can be found here
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The number of children having abortions is heartbreaking. When I saw the number of abortions performed on those under 14 I was shocked.
ReplyDeleteIt is scary. Last night a friend of mine who regularly prays and does sidewalk counseling at a nearby abortion "clinic" was telling us that there are school buses bringing teen girls from out of state (and some in-state districts as well) for abortions, since NJ has no parental notification requirement. My daughter can't get a Tylenol at school--but if she were in public school, the nurse could take her for an abortion without my consent or knowledge. SO scary!
ReplyDelete