Abortion figures in Northern Ireland have soared, with 2,792 procedures recorded between April 2023 and March 2024, marking a 29% increase from the previous year, according to new data from the Department of Health.
This represents the largest single-year rise since abortion laws were expanded in Northern Ireland and a 77% increase compared to 2021.
The latest statistics reveal a 61.7% rise in late-term abortions (beyond 13 weeks) and a 56.25% increase in disability-selective abortions under Ground E of the 2020 Regulations.
This includes 25 abortions on unborn babies diagnosed with non-fatal disabilities such as Down’s syndrome, cleft lip, and club foot, up from 16 in 2022.
Additionally, there was a 20% rise in abortions among mothers under 18, while Belfast Trust recorded the highest number of procedures, performing 793 abortions—an 18.7% increase from the previous year.
Despite abortion being a devolved matter, Westminster imposed liberal abortion laws on Northern Ireland in 2019, overriding local lawmakers.
No Northern Ireland MPs supported the move, which replaced strict protections that previously allowed abortion only when a mother’s life was at risk.
Prior to these changes, abortion numbers were significantly lower—just 1,053 Northern Ireland residents sought abortions in England and Wales in 2018, and only 12 abortions took place in Northern Ireland that year.
The sharp rise in abortion rates suggests that far more pregnancies are now ending in abortion than before the new law was introduced.
Under the new regulations, babies diagnosed with disabilities can be aborted up to birth. In contrast, before 2019, Northern Ireland had a strong culture of supporting people with disabilities rather than terminating pregnancies on such grounds.
In 2016, 52 babies were born with Down’s syndrome in Northern Ireland, while only one baby with the condition was aborted in England and Wales.
Lord Shinkwin, a disability rights advocate, previously stated that Northern Ireland was the safest place in the UK for an unborn child diagnosed with a disability—a claim that is now under serious threat.
The latest figures have reignited demands to restore Northern Ireland’s previous pro-life protections.
Carla Lockhart MP has urged local politicians to bring forward legislation at Stormont to repeal Westminster’s abortion law, calling the rise in abortions “heartbreaking” and labelling it the largest percentage increase in any UK region over the past 50 years.
Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right to Life UK, echoed these concerns, urging Stormont to “take back control” and remove the “inhumane” abortion regime imposed by Westminster.
