Number of British abortionists on the decline

The number of physicians providing abortion services in the United Kingdom has fallen in recent years, so much so that even finding a hospital that performs abortions is a struggle throughout much of Great Britain, according to a recent article from The Times And while the total number has fallen, the most prominent area is in the arena of late-term abortions, as quoted below:

“Figures presented at a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists meeting in March showed only one person had been trained for abortions between 14 and 19 weeks’ gestation since 2009, and none had been trained to perform abortions beyond 20 weeks.”

There are multiple factors at play, including many physicians objecting on moral and ethical grounds. But another catalyst for the decline comes from the fact that fewer hospitals or clinics are actually providing training for performing abortions. Back in the 1980s, there was a far more even split between NHS-funded providers and those in the private sector performing abortions. Now, NHS-funded independent providers such as BPAS and Marie Stopes make up nearly two-thirds of that number.

These and other providers like them are not licensed to train abortionists, which means that with their rise comes a falling number of hospitals that provide abortions and train doctors to perform abortions. Thus, with fewer institutions training abortionists, combined with individuals objecting to the training and laws that deter potential abortionists, one would expect the number will continue to fall over time.

  

   

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