In 2010 almost 8,000 Irish Females travelled to England to have their unborn babies terminated. Some of these females were as young as 11 years old; the majority of terminations were convenience terminations, Doctors being told that the women simply did not want another child or that they were pregnant due to extra-marital affairs. However, a significant number of Irish children were taken to England in 2010 to have their unborn babies terminated the youngest recorded was an 11 year old girl.
Many Irish women also travelled to England in 2010 to terminate the lives of their children who were found under scan to have abnormalities or disabilities.
It is estimated that since 1980, 7/8,000 Irish women and children travel to, or are taken to England each year to have their unborn children terminated.
In England thousands of pregnancies were terminated last year for 'abnormalities' including 500 for Down's syndrome, new figures reveal.
In total, there were 2,290 abortions for medical problems with the foetus, with 147 performed after 24 weeks.
The statistics for 2010 in England and Wales were released after the Department of Health yielded to a Freedom of Information Request from the Pro Life Alliance, following a five-year legal battle.
Foetus at 24 weeks: Newly released data reveals there were 147 abortions after 24 weeks due to medical problems such as Down's syndrome
It is the first time in nearly a decade that the Government has released data on abortions performed on the grounds of disability.
Julia Millington, spokeswoman for the ProLife Alliance, said: 'This is a great victory for transparency and freedom of speech and we are delighted that full information about the justification for late abortions is now being made available in the same detail as it was in 2001.'
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More than 1,000 girls under 15 every year are having abortions
The data reveals that in 2010, 482 foetuses were aborted for Down's syndrome, including 10 who were over 24 weeks.
There were also 128 terminations for the nervous disorder spina bifida, including 12 after 24 weeks.
Abortions for ‘medical conditions’ in 2010
Total Abortions Abortions over 24wks
All medical conditions
2,290
Spina Bifida
128
Cleft lip and palate
7
Musculoskeletal system (Eg, club foot)
181
Down's syndrome
482
Edwards' syndrome
164
Foetus affected by maternal factors
115
Family history of inherited disorder
181
Musculoskeletal problems such as club foot were the reason for 181 abortions, including eight over 24 weeks.
There were seven terminations on the grounds of a cleft palate, rising to 40 terminations for this condition since 2002.
It marks the end of a six-year battle between an anti-abortion group and the Government for access to the controversial data.
In 2005, Pro Life Alliance asked that the Department of Health to publish data on foetal abnormalities for 2003, which had been suppressed.
The Department of Health had challenged the move, saying the numbers were so low it could lead to women being identified.
The Government then challenged successful appeals made by the anti-abortion group to The Information Commissioner and an Information Tribunal.
A cleft lip and palate is the most common facial birth defect in the UK. There have been 40 terminations for cleft palates since 2002
However, in April, the Department of Health finally conceded defeat after the appeal was upheld by the High Court.
They also released figures on abortions to under-16s between 2002 and 2010. There were an astonishing 35,262 terminations during this period.
In 2010 there were 3,718 under-16s abortions in England, including 2,676 to 15-year-olds, 906 to 14-year-olds, 134 to 13-year-olds and two to 12-year-olds.
Ms Millington, said: 'The Pro-Life Alliance is opposed to all abortion at any stage in pregnancy, but terminating the lives of babies at gestational ages when they could survive is always particularly horrifying.
'We have always argued that if these abortions are permitted under law, there should be no attempt whatsoever to hide details of the numbers or justifications.'
However, Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said: 'The publication of these statistics after a campaign by the anti-abortion lobby reveals little more than their own vindictiveness.
'Abortion for foetal anomaly is legal. Behind every one of these figures are doctors and nurses who deserve our admiration and support, and a couple who have often lost a much-wanted pregnancy.'
Abortion is legal in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy for disability reasons but also if the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother's mental health.
After 24 weeks, an abortion is allowed only if there is substantial risk to the mother of the child, in many cases the Mother simply has to state that she would not be able to cope with a handicap child and the child is terminated.
