Monday 18 October 2010

“Abortion is really expensive”

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Most women in England and Wales don’t have to pay to have an abortion. In 2008, 94% of abortions in England and Wales were funded by the NHS. Many of these took place in NHS hospitals, but well over half (60%) occurred at private clinics that have contracts with the NHS to provide abortions for the population in a particular area. In other words, a woman accesses an abortion through NHS referral pathways, but the actual procedure takes place at Marie Stopes, bpas, or another private abortion provider.

The other 6% of abortions were privately funded. This may be because they wanted to access an abortion faster than the NHS in their area would allow, because they did not want to access an abortion at their local hospital where NHS abortions are performed (because they work there, for example), or because a private abortion was more convenient (some NHS-funded abortions require out-of-area travel).

The Department of Health provides statistics on all abortions carried out in England and Wales each year.

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