This month, multiple countries have released updated abortion data. Sadly, the trend of increasing abortion rates in many parts of the world continues. A report from Ireland’s Department of Health found that 10,852 abortions were performed in 2024 — an increase of nearly 8 percent from the previous year. Similarly, data from the United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics found that the number of abortions performed in England and Wales increased by over 13 percent between 2021 and 2022.

These recently released statistics show that public policy continues to have a significant impact on the incidence of abortion. The case of Ireland is fairly straightforward. In May 2018, Irish people voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment. Abortion formally became legal on January 1, 2019, and in the first full year of legalization, 6,666 abortions were performed. Five years later, that figure has increased by more than 60 percent.

Regarding England and Wales, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service cited lengthy waiting times for some forms of contraception and financial hardship as potential reasons for the abortion increase. However, it should be noted that England’s policy regarding chemical abortions has become much more permissive in recent years. In 2018, the Department of Health and Social Care in England approved the home use of misoprostol for chemical abortions. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic they allowed women to obtain chemical abortion without an in-person medical exam. Parliament voted to make this policy permanent in 2022.

Easier access to chemical abortions has also increased abortion rates in the United States. In 2017, the FDA increased the gestational age limit for chemical abortions from seven weeks to ten weeks and reduced the number of in-person visits from three to one. Then during the Covid pandemic in 2020, the FDA allowed women to obtain chemical abortions without an in-person medical exam. The long-term trend in declining abortion rates abruptly reversed itself. Between 2017 and 2024, the number of abortions performed in the U.S. has increased by more than 21 percent, according to Guttmacher Institute data. Overall, preventing chemical abortions remains an important challenge for pro-lifers both in the U.S. and around the world.