Highest number of abortions, 78, by Maltese women carried out in 2009
The number of Maltese women to have had an abortion in the UK last year reached 78, the highest ever registered so far.
The statistics were issued by the UK department of health, which includes a breakdown of the 6,643 abortions performed on non-residents.
The data also suggests the growing number of Maltese women who have abortions carried out in UK clinics. Other countries, such as Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, do not provide similar statistics.
The highest number of abortions, 69, were carried out in 2002 and 2007; the lowest was 38 in 2008. According to the NSO, the average is 57 a year.
The number of women having abortions in the UK dropped 3.2% - there were 189,100 abortions in 2009, down from 195,296 in 2008.
Among under-15s, there were 1,047 abortions (down from 1,097 in 2008), of which 136 were on girls under 14 and 911 were on 14-year-olds. Among all under-16s, there were 3,823 abortions (down from 4,113 in 2008) and 17,916 among under-18s (down from 19,387 in 2008). Girls aged 15 to 19 accounted for 39,020 abortions in 2009.
Overall, 2,085 abortions (1% of the total) were for children who would have been born disabled.
This included 775 for chromosomal abnormalities including Down’s syndrome and 496 for problems with the nervous system.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
