Women in their 20s are driving a rise in abortions, with many blaming concerns about moving up the property ladder for terminating a pregnancy, according to new research.
Some claimed a ‘Glastonbury-style fight’ over GP appointments left them unable to access contraceptives as a reason for requesting a termination.
Others turned to modern fertility tracking apps promoted as “natural contraceptives” and ended up with an unplanned pregnancy.
It comes as official data shows a record 252,122 abortions were carried out in England and Wales in 2022, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.
This is equivalent to one in 50 women in England and Wales aged 15 to 44 having an abortion.
A closer look at the figures reveals that women in their early 20s, among the so-called Generation Income, as very few can afford a mortgage, were the age group most likely to opt for an abortion in 2022, with 36.4 interruptions per 1,000 women, almost double the national average.
It comes as official data shows a record 252,122 abortions were carried out in England and Wales in 2022, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year (file image).
Data collected by the charity British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), one of the largest NHS-funded abortion providers, suggests that the majority of women who decide to terminate pregnancies do so for financial reasons.
Of the 1,300 women surveyed, more than half (57 percent) said financial concerns had influenced their decision to have an abortion.
Housing, or rather the lack of it, was often cited as one of the key factors.
One woman told BPAS: ‘We have also moved into a two-bedroom house which we rent privately for £1,300 a month.
“Simply put, we currently do not have the space or funds for another child.”
Another said: “I terminated the pregnancy because I wasn’t financially stable, I wasn’t at the right stage in my life because I don’t have my own house.”
Data shows that the number of Britons owning their own home has fallen by half a million in the last decade, while the number of people renting has soared by 1.3 million.
Analysis of the 2021 census by the Office for National Statistics showed that 15.5 million households owned their homes directly or with a mortgage, and at 62.5 per cent, this is the lowest proportion recorded in a decade.
At the same time, the number of households renting increased from 8 million to 9.3 million (34.3 percent to 37.3 percent).
Not only has the rent increased, but also the cost; data suggests rents have increased increased up to 60 percent in parts of the country over the past eight years.
Other women simply cited general economic reasons or lack of a partner as their reason for having an abortion.
One said: “There were many reasons for me why I couldn’t continue with the pregnancy, but the financial aspect was about 70 per cent.”
The number of women using natural family planning – monitoring cycle length, temperature and cervical mucus to predict when they are fertile – has doubled in the last decade, NHS figures show.
The proportion of women taking oral contraceptives has fallen by more than two-thirds, from 420,600 in 2012/13 to 126,400 in 2022/23, according to NHS data. Around 555,400 women attended the health service’s sexual and reproductive health services in 2022/23, equivalent to four per cent of people aged 13 to 54. Of them, 8,800 confessed to using ‘natural family planning’ as their main contraceptive method.
Another added: “It was a difficult and heartbreaking decision, but I was not financially or mentally prepared to bring a baby into this world on my own.”
The BPAS data also suggests that financial reasons were not the only factor in women’s choice to terminate pregnancy, but also a lack of contraceptive or dating options.
Many women told BPAS that they became pregnant unplanned while waiting for a repeat pill prescription or for a coil or implant to be inserted.
Some women even said Britain’s never-ending GP appointments crisis was to blame.
One said: “I have found it difficult to get an appointment with a GP for contraception as there is no option to book in advance and all appointments for the day disappear very quickly meaning I haven’t been able to see the doctor header”. absolutely.
Another added: ‘There should be an easier channel to get to contraception. Having to call a GP at 8am more than 200 times and being turned away because all the slots are being taken is leading to unwanted pregnancies.’
Patients have complained about having to endure the “Glastonbury ticket” scramble to get a GP appointment, often stuck for long periods in phone queues since the country emerged from Covid.
NHS data from March this year suggested that almost one in 10 GP appointments were made almost a month after they were originally booked, with another similar proportion only made three weeks after a patient contacted with the query.
The NHS says natural family planning can be up to 99 per cent effective when done correctly and around 75 per cent effective if not used as directed. In comparison, the pill, implant, IUS and IUD are 99 percent effective if used perfectly, while condoms are 98 percent effective.
Problems in accessing timely contraceptive treatments, combined with a general decline in the use of hormonal contraceptives such as the pill by young women, have been accompanied by an increase in reliance on modern fertility awareness apps.
Official data suggests the proportion of women taking oral contraceptives has fallen by more than two-thirds over the last decade.
At the same time, the number of women relying on “fertility awareness,” which involves tracking their menstrual cycle to know when they are most likely to get pregnant, has doubled in the last decade.
One woman who had an abortion told BPAS that a lack of contraceptive options on the NHS led her to use alternatives, which ended in pregnancy and abortion.
“The only option left was to follow natural pregnancy prevention methods which, of course, are not 100 percent effective.”
Another admitted to using a fertility tracker because current contraceptive options “scared” her.
‘The side effects and the fact that it is mainly aimed at women put me off. Which leads me to having to track my cycle,” she said.
He added: “Abortion is not an easy option, but the alternatives are limited.”
Heidi Stewart, chief executive of BPAS, condemned the results of her survey: “No woman should be forced to terminate a pregnancy that would otherwise have continued for purely financial reasons.
‘The stories that women have shared with us are heartbreaking. The cost of living crisis has put immense pressure on women and families, with many having to choose between financial stability and having a baby.
“With the second highest costs of child care in the developed world, whichever party is elected on July 4 must prioritize reducing the cost of living and making child care more affordable.”
She added: “No woman should get pregnant because health care services do not provide women with the contraceptives they want and need, when they need them,” she said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘It is important that women have timely access to safe abortion services that are provided within the legal framework set out by the Abortion Act.
“There are a number of factors that may be contributing to the increasing number of abortions and the department will continue to consider the evidence to better understand these factors.”