The vast majority of Britons are unaware of the huge number of abortions being carried out across the country, according to the results of a disturbing new poll.
In 2009 there were over 200,000 abortions in Britain and in an effort to highlight the scale of the problem a pro-life campaign group is planning to place adverts on buses in central London.
Last week a ComRes poll revealed that almost one in three people believe there are less than 20,000 abortions in Britain each year, and one in ten thought there were between 20-50,000. Over 40 per cent of the respondents said that they didn’t know.
Abortions
Disturbingly just 3 per cent of the respondents correctly estimated that the number of abortions taking place each year was between 150,000 and 250,000.
In an attempt to highlight the scale of the problem Christian Concern, a Christian campaign group, has booked adverts on buses around central London.
The ads, which are part of a campaign to mark the anniversary of the passing of the Abortion Act, feature a picture of an unborn baby and the words “Stop and Think”.
Lament
Andrea Minichiello Williams, Director of Christian Concern, said: “As this survey reveals, there is widespread ignorance in our nation as to the scale of abortion.”
She added: “For too long abortion has been a taboo subject, a situation that only compounds the problems that abortion brings. It is time for society to face up to the hidden scale and consequences of abortion.”
Multiple
During 2009 a staggering 195,743 abortions were performed in England and Wales, with a further 13,005 terminations being performed in Scotland.
Earlier this year the NHS released new statistics revealing that tens of thousands of British women are having multiple abortions.
The official stats revealed that, of the abortions carried out on women resident in England and Wales, 63,309 – 34 per cent of the total – were for women who had previously had at least one abortion.
Abortions
And of the abortions carried out in Scotland, this figure stood at 3,658, accounting for 28 per cent of the total.
Norman Wells, Director of the Family Education Trust, said Britain’s high abortion rates are an “inevitable consequence of a society that has made an idol out of sexual pleasure.”
The stats also show that a worrying number of teenage girls are opting for terminations.
In England and Wales over a thousand abortions were performed on girls under the age of 15, and a further 39,020 abortions were performed on girls resident in England and Wales, aged between 15 and 19.
And in Scotland there were 3,214 abortions on teenagers aged 19 and under.