Archbishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, has commented on statistics released by the Office for National Statistics that show, in 2022, 29.69% of all conceptions in England and Wales ended in abortion – up from 26.54% a year earlier.
In 2012, this number was 20.84% – just over one in five – whereas in 2022 it was nearly one in three.
Archbishop Sherrington said:
“In recent times, parliament has recognised the humanity of the unborn baby by extending the provision of baby loss certificates where the mother miscarries as well as by legislating for bereavement following miscarriage.
“And yet, following on from the moves to decriminalise abortion up to birth, we read today that nearly one in three babies who are conceived have their lives ended prematurely by abortion, rising to nearly half of all babies in some parts of the country.”
In 2022, there were 834,260 conceptions for women resident in England and Wales, and 247,703 of these conceptions ended in abortion. In 2021 the number of conceptions ending in abortion was 218,923.
Archbishop Sherrington added:
“We need rapidly to re-establish a culture of life in which the unborn child is properly protected in legislation and in which we also provide compassionate assistance to those parents facing trauma as a result of their pregnancy.”
