The Times of India published a data-filled article on Monday, providing a comparison of abortion data from India, UK and United States. Statistics from governmental sources further substantiate revealing abortion trends in these countries and are worth analyzing.
India, as opposed to UK and US, defines human life as beginning at conception (according to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act enacted in 1971). That unfortunately, does not hinder the availability of abortion services to Indian women, who can abort their babies up to 20 weeks in the pregnancy. An exception in the Indian MTP Act allows abortions to be performed beyond the 20-week limit in cases of grave health risks or disability detected in the unborn-baby. This resulted in 8.33% Indian babies aborted in 2002- that is 2.4 million out of 28.8 million babies conceived that year.
A different picture can be portrayed of Britain. They have had the most liberal abortion laws in Europe since their Abortion Act passed in 1967, which is still in effect in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, however, the laws protect unborn babies and prohibit abortion unless the life of the mother is in danger or the continuation of the pregnancy would cause the woman genuine medical concerns.
In England, Scotland and Wales, the law permits abortion up until 24 weeks of pregnancy to save a woman’s life, or for health, economic or social reasons and after 24 weeks only for severe disability in the unborn baby or to save the mother’s life. According to UK National Statistics Office abortion data, these laws lead to 22.5% British babies being aborted every year- that is 185,000 abortions to 640,000 births.
In United States, abortion was legalized at the federal level by the 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, but is restricted by state laws to varying degrees. States have passed laws to restrict late term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate the disclosure of abortion risk information to patients prior to the procedure.
The Centers for Disease Control reported 17.3% American babies being aborted in 2003, a total of 854,122 legal induced abortions for 4,089,950 live births. But since abortion reporting is not mandatory in US, many abortions may go unreported and so caution should be exercised in taking the numbers at their face value.
