Official numbers released by the Northern Ireland State Department of Health show that the number of abortions in the country increased by almost 25% in the last year.
Legalized abortion was forced on Northern Ireland in 2019 by the United Kingdom (UK) government, with the legalized abortion officially taking effect in March 2020. Since that time, abortions in the nation have skyrocketed; in 2021 – 2022, there were 1,755 abortions, while in 2022 – 2023, there were 2,168 abortions… a jump of 23.5% compared to the previous 12 months. In total, 5,497 preborn children have lost their lives since abortion was legalized.
The statistics also show that in the last 12 months, 60 abortions were committed on girls younger than age 18, and 409 were committed on those over age 35.
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Though abortion numbers are skyrocketing, the government is doing all it can to promote more abortion and prevent pregnant women from receiving needed help and resources. Late last year, the British government introduced a proposal that would require schools, including Catholic schools, to teach students how to access abortion. Lawmakers also passed a buffer zone law limiting free speech outside abortion facilities, preventing pro-lifers from offering counseling, support, and even prayer within 250 meters outside the buildings where preborn children are killed.
Right to Like UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson noted that the legalization of abortion has resulted in far more lives lost than was previously occurring when women would travel for abortion.
“It is a great tragedy that 2,168 lives were lost to abortion in Northern Ireland for the year end[ing] 31 March 2023. Every one of these abortions represents a failure of our society to protect the lives of babies in the womb and a failure to offer full support to women with unplanned pregnancies,” Robinson said.
She continued, “The figures represent a very large increase compared to the number of abortions that were taking place in England and Wales for Northern Ireland residents prior to abortion being imposed on Northern Ireland, along with the small number of abortions that took place in Northern Ireland. This demonstrates that the introduction of an extreme abortion regime to Northern Ireland has likely resulted in the lives of many more babies from Northern Ireland being lost to abortion.”
