Number of abortions at record high

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Procedures to women living in England and Wales have increased across all age groups since records began, the Department of Health confirmed.

Yearly figures showed the number of abortions among girls under 14 rose 21%, from 135 abortions in 2006 to 163 in 2007.

There was also an 11% rise among girls aged 14, from 907 abortions in 2006 to 1,008 in 2007. Furthermore, there were 3,205 abortions to girls aged 15 in 2007, a 9% increase on the 2,948 in 2006.

Among all girls aged under 16, there was a 10% rise, from 3,990 abortions in 2006 to 4,376 in 2007.

The new figures will fuel the debate over abortion, with MPs last month rejecting calls to lower the upper time limit. It remains at 24 weeks after they turned down several proposals, ranging from 12 to 22 weeks.

Across all age groups, there was a 2.5% increase in the number of women living in England and Wales having an abortion, from 193,700 in 2006 to 198,500 in 2007, today's figures showed.

There were a further 7,100 abortions to women not resident in England and Wales in 2007. The abortion rate for residents was highest, at 36 per 1,000 women, for those aged 19.

Health minister Dawn Primarolo, said: "Our priority is to reduce the time women have to wait for an abortion at what is already a very difficult time for them. These statistics show that we have made considerable progress in this, with over two-thirds of women having their abortion at under 10 weeks in 2007, up from half in 2002."

Kaye Wellings, professor of sexual and reproductive health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said of the under-14 figures: "The increase in abortions in this age group fits the pattern in women aged under 18 generally, that is, a higher proportion of pregnancies are terminated. This is bringing us in line with other European countries, where fewer pregnancies lead to live births than in the UK. The main goal, of course, is to reduce the number of pregnancies in young women."