Britain: Half of Teen Pregnancies End in Abortion, Abortion Advocates Applaud
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 11, 2009
London, England (LifeNews.com) — A new government report indicates half of all teenage pregnancies in Britain now end in abortion. Though the news is tragic to pro-life advocates, those who claim they are "pro-choice" on abortion proved their pro-abortion credentials by applauding the report.
The government figures show that, out of 40,000 teen pregnancies in England last year, more than 20,000 ended in abortions. The figure is higher than the 2007 report, which showed the abortion numbers barely reaching 50 percent.
The abortion rate has also climbed steadily since 1999 when the government released its Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, which attempted to reduce teen abortions by promoting birth control and contraception.
The government has spent £300 million in an attempt to cut the number of teen pregnancies in half, but the expensive program has failed and teen pregnancy rates in 2007 went up.
According to the London Daily Mail teen pregnancy rates in England are now higher than they were in 1995 and pregnancies among girls under 16, below the age of sexual consent, are also at the highest level since 1998.
The new figures also show the number of abortions on women living in England and Wales has topped 200,000 for the first time.
Amazingly, Ann Furedi, the head of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, applauded the new figures.
"The fact that teenagers felt able to end their pregnancy in abortion is actually a positive sign," she said.
John Smeaton, the head of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, a British pro-life group, was aghast.
"Let’s remind ourselves of what abortion is. A human being (a fact confirmed by every embryological textbook) in his or her mother’s womb is intentionally killed, usually either by chemical means or by dismemberment," he said.
"Every day, innocent children, male and female, from every race and class, are killed by abortion (550 every day in Britain; 3,300 every day in America," he added. "Women all over the world report physical and psychological harm from abortion."
"The sad thing is that Ms Furedi" is "entirely serious" about her opinion that abortions increasing is a good thing.
"Even more sad is abortion itself, a truly inhuman way to (try and fail to) solve human problems. Let’s put human compassion at the heart of our response to the needs of women instead," Smeaton said.
Related web sites:
SPUC – https://www.spuc.org.uk
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
