UK scraps two-child benefit cap as evidence suggests it influences women's abortion decisions

Image credit: Tá Focando / Devon Divine via Unsplash

Announcing measures for the 2025 UK budget, the British government announced that it would be scrapping the two-child benefit cap as evidence has found it could play a role in influencing whether a woman chooses to have an abortion. 

According to Right to Life UK, the two-child benefit cap was introduced in April 2017, which “prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for more than two children”. 

The Budget, which was published last week, announced that it would be removing the two-child benefit cap as of April 2026 Removing this cap is expected to “lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year” after data from the Child Poverty Action Group discovered that each year “about 50,000 children are pushed into poverty as a result of the two-child limit, and a further 150,000 children who are already living in poverty see their circumstances deteriorate further”.

However, it is possible that the two-child benefit cap also began to influence a woman’s decision to have an abortion after an analysis of official abortion statistics between 2016 and 2021 for England and Wales saw the number of women who had an abortion after having two or more live births or stillbirths increased by 25.96%, whereas the number of women who had an abortion after no or one live birth or stillbirth only increased by 9.89%. 

Whilst the disproportionate increase in women with two or more children having an abortion after the cap was introduced is suggestive that it played a role in a woman’s abortion decisions, a survey conducted by BPAS has also suggested that the cap played a role in the woman’s decision to have an abortion. 

The survey, which involved 240 women with two or more children who had an abortion between March and November 2020, found that 59% of women were aware of the cap before their abortion, whereas of those most likely affected by the cap, 57% reported that “the policy was important in their decision-making around whether or not to continue the pregnancy”.

One woman who took part in the survey said “I did something I never imagined I would ever do… But at the back of my mind all I kept thinking is how would I have managed financially… I had to do this”.

“[The two-child limit] was a big factor for me. My husband has lost his job so we are on a very tight budget and when we looked at our finances we realised we couldn’t afford to have another baby,” said another woman.

One other woman said the two-child benefit cap was the reason for her decision to have an abortion. “If there was no two-child limit I would have kept the baby, but I couldn’t afford to feed and clothe it … I’ve really struggled to come to terms with [my decision],” she said. 

The news to scrap the two-child benefit cap was welcomed by pro-life group Right to Life UK, with CEO of the organisation, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan saying that “We welcome the news announced in the Budget that the two-child benefit cap will be scrapped. This is a significant step in the right direction in terms of improving support for pregnant women”.

“When women discover they are pregnant, they should be met with the practical help and support they need to continue their pregnancy, not told that they will receive less financial support for their next child than for their previous children,” he added.

“Official data from the Department of Health and Social Care shows there has been a disproportionately large increase in abortions among women with two or more previous children compared to women who had one or no children between 2017 and 2021,” he continued adding that “the results of a survey of women with two or more children who had had an abortion suggest that the two-child benefit cap was a significant factor in many of these women’s decisions to have an abortion”.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented, saying: “This is a very good move from the UK and a win for families and pregnant women.”

“There is never a logical reason to put a limit on benefits for larger families, and it is clear it not only impacted women on whether or not they would have an abortion, but it impacted children already born, leading them to suffer from poverty as a result.”

“Rightly so, this cap should be removed and the government should focus more resources in helping and supporting families. No child should have to suffer poverty and no woman should be pushed into an abortion because of financial concerns.”