Press release: Department of Health abortion statistics released as Tory/DUP alliance looms
Abortion Support Network Press Release
13 June 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Department of Health abortion statistics released as Tory/DUP alliance looms
Look beyond the 2016 DoH abortion statistics to the full story of those forced to travel from Ireland and the Isle of Man to England for abortions
The 2016 abortion statistics published by the Department of Health today show minimal differences in the numbers of women travelling to access a safe, legal abortion in England, reporting a slight decrease in the number of women travelling from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
However, a steep increase in calls from these countries to Abortion Support Network (ASN), which provides financial assistance, practical information and accommodation to women forced to travel to England to access an abortion, reveals the real story.
While the 2016 abortion statistics published by the Department of Health today show an slight decrease the number of women travelling to England to access safe and legal abortions, these numbers do not reflect the thousands of women who are accessing abortion medication from the internet. In 2016, ASN received calls and emails from 801 women, couples and families looking for help and financial assistance – figures which more accurately reveal the real story.
ASN considers this increase of 24% over the 2015 figure of 648 is partly related to the fear of prosecution which the taking of safe but illegal early medical abortion pills now poses, as many of our callers who would have opted for the less-expensive, albeit illegal, early medical abortion at home felt they have no choice but to travel to England and incur the obvious increased expense, distress and hardship which this causes. We have also heard from an increased number of exceptionally vulnerable clients, who would not have had any hope of accessing care without enormous amounts of financial and logistical support.
These statistics are released as the UK faces a coalition between the DUP and the Conservative party. The DUP are the drivers behind Northern Ireland’s excessively punitive abortion laws and the culture that has allowed prosecutions of women who have ordered safe but illegal early medical abortion pills online. Because of the very real fear that they could be charged and convicted of a criminal offence – for taking pills that are free and legal on the NHS for those in England, Scotland or Wales and on the World Health Organisation’s list of essential medicines – many women in both Ireland and Northern Ireland no longer feel safe ordering these medications online, even from reputable organisations.
Abortion Support Network Founder and Director, Mara Clarke, said:
“Abortion Support Network is a tiny charity helping those people forced to travel to England to access abortion. We hear first-hand of the hardship, difficulties and distress they are forced to endure because they cannot access a safe legal abortion in their own country.
These Department of Health abortion statistics only tell us how many women gave an Irish, Northern Irish or Isle of Man address at a UK family planning clinic; ASN knows these numbers only tell part of the story.
They do not include the women who give the address of a local friend or family member, the women who travel to other countries to access abortions, or the thousands of women who are obtaining early medical abortion pills online.
These numbers do not capture the women who cannot travel – women who need, but cannot obtain, passports or visas needed to travel; women who cannot escape from violent partners; women who do not have someone who can provide childcare from 5 am until late at night; and women who do not have the £400 to £2,000 it costs to travel to England and pay privately for an abortion and who don’t know that ASN exists and can help them.
While official statistics show a slight decrease in women travelling, the number of people contacting us for help has been increasing each year and has grown an overall 112% since we began in 2009.
These are the women who are prevented by stigma from reaching out to families for help, women unable to scrape together the money to travel, women forced to share their personal business with a group of strangers in England and ask for money.
In addition to the need to raise funds to travel, those who need abortions face numerous other obstacles, including: needing to take time off work; unscrupulous money lenders; medical misinformation distributed by rogue crisis pregnancy centres; finding childcare; keeping the abortion secret; traveling from rural parts of the island of Ireland to an airport; cancelled flights due to inclement weather; delays caused by needing to obtain a passport, European ID or Visa; extra funds needed for expensive flights; the cost of the procedure increasing over time.
The calls we received, many from women who define themselves as against abortion or “pro-life”, is further proof that criminalising abortion does not stop abortion but creates a two-tier system in which women with money have options and women without money have babies – or do dangerous and desperate things.
We’ve heard time and time again from women forced by the despair induced by a combination of poverty and draconian abortion laws who have taken matters into their own hands – by ingesting chemicals, by overdosing on medications, by drinking excessively, by literally throwing themselves down stairs to try and induce miscarriage.
We know that making abortion against the law doesn’t stop abortion. It just means that those with money have options and those without do not. Now that people are being arrested for taking safe but illegal early medical abortion pills, it’s sending the message that, when faced with an unplanned pregnancy without access to the £400 to £2000 it costs to travel, women should either continue unwanted pregnancies or take more dangerous methods to self-abort.
We are particularly concerned about suggestions that a DUP/Conservative alliance would ask for a reduction in the legal time limit for abortions in the UK. While very few terminations take place after 20 weeks, ASN’s clients are often pushed into later gestations while they raise funds, arrange childcare and wait for travel documents to be processed. We have had many cases where women have arrived to England and been sent home to continue an unwanted pregnancy for being as little as one day over the legal limit. We would hate for ultra-right-wing politicians to create even more obstacles for women living in Ireland and Northern Ireland to overcome to access safe, legal abortions in England.
As long as there are women who want an abortion and can’t afford one, Abortion Support Network will continue to do our best to help.”
Case Studies
These are some examples of the people who contacted us in 2016:
“Our 15 year old is having an abortion and before we found your page we planned to borrow money from a loan shark to help her.”
“Could someone call me urgently as I do not have enough credit on my phone to call UK numbers.”
“I am pretty sure my ex-partner will kill me if he knows I am pregnant.”
“I’m already a single mother to a child with a disability so I’m not in a position to have another child at the minute, we are living with family and can’t afford to move out. I can’t work because even with a job I can’t afford childcare.”
“I am about 21 weeks pregnant and unfortunately baby has been diagnosed with a major foetal abnormality. My doctor will not advise just want me to wait for more scans and time is running out. This is a wanted pregnancy and I’m devastated by the diagnosis and also really frustrated that my doctors can’t or won’t tell me anything about ending this.”
“I have a pregnant teenage daughter who doesn’t want to keep the pregnancy. We tried to get the pills online but they were stopped by customs.”
“I am pregnant from a rape and I cannot go through with this pregnancy. I have never left this country and it scares me and finding the money feels impossible. I am absolutely lost and feel alone. I would be so grateful if anyone cared enough to get in touch with me.”
“He started blocking my calls as soon as I told him I was pregnant”
“I contemplated suicide to get away from this, as I really just couldn’t go on with my life if I have to remain pregnant.”
“I need an abortion as I am trying to leave an abusive partner and a child would tie me to him forever.”
“I went to a pro-life agency and they told me they thought my baby was a boy. They told me if I took the abortion pill it could damage my DNA and any children I had in the future would be disabled.”
“Youse are the only people we’ve reached out to for help who have called us back.”
ENDS
For enquiries please contact:
Mara Clarke, Director, Abortion Support Network
Notes for Editors
- Official numbers of women travelling for abortion
For the second year in a row, the Department of Health has reported that there has been a decrease in the number of abortions performed for women giving addresses in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
2014 Total 4,572
Irish Republic 3,735
Northern Ireland 837
Isle of Man 90
2015 Total 4,389
| Irish Republic | 3,451 |
Northern Ireland 833
Isle of Man 105
2016 Total 4,077
| Irish Republic | 3,265 |
Northern Ireland 724
Isle of Man 88
The full report and data tables can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/report-on-abortion-statistics-in-england-and-wales-for-2016
- Numbers of women contacting Abortion Support Network
2014 Total 552
Irish Republic 342
Northern Ireland 141
Isle of Man 5
Other/Unknown 64
2015 Total 648
Irish Republic 430
Northern Ireland 139
Isle of Man 2
Other/Unknown 77
2016 Total 801
Irish Republic 524
Northern Ireland 166
Isle of Man 12
Other/Unknown 99
- The cost of abortion. Women who travel from Ireland to England for an abortion have to pay for their travel and often that of a partner, friend or family member accompanying them (last minute air fares and travel to and from the clinic), can need to pay for accommodation to stay overnight, and must pay for the procedure as a private patient. The cost of the procedure at a clinic in England ranges between £330 to £1,350, plus consultation fee of £45 to £75, depending on the stage of their pregnancy and what clinic they attend. Some women must also pay the costs of childcare for children back home, lose income due to time off work, pay for travel documents, and other costs.
- About Abortion Support Network
Abortion Support Network (ASN) is a charity that provides financial assistance, confidential, non-judgemental information and accommodation in volunteer homes to people forced to travel from Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man and pay privately for abortions in England. The cost ranges between £400 and £2000 depending on circumstance and stage of pregnancy. While many organisations campaign for much needed law reform, ASN is the only group providing those travelling for abortions with the thing they need most immediately: money.
Website: https://www.asn.org.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbortionSupport