Abortion rates in England and Wales hit record high of 29%

That's almost a third of all conceptions

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the overall figure landed on 29.7%, meaning nearly three in 10 conceptions never made it to birth.

That's 251,377 procedures - a new record.

In 2021, rates were at 26.5% while 2012 statistics went down to 20.8%.

The ONS claimed that the numbers have been increasing across all age groups for the past decade.

In terms of explaining this rise, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) suggested prolonged waiting times on contraception and financial struggles may be key contributors.

ONS data also revealed how 247,703 conceptions lead to a legal abortion in 2022 - that's 13.1% more than the year prior (218,923).

Apparently, their data is based on the estimated date of conception, although government numbers differ in that they're taken on the date of the abortion.

As in previous years, girls aged below 16 take up 61% of these growing abortion rates, while woman aged between 30 and 24 boasted the lowest percentage at 20.5%.

Katherine O'Brien, associate director of communications and campaigns at BPAS, went on to discuss how emergency contraception "remains an underutilised resource".

"The government has committed to improving access via pharmacies, but we need to see this medication reclassified so that it can be sold in a wider range of outlets, including supermarkets, so that women can access it as swiftly as possible when needed," she said.

This comes after MPs voted to decriminalise abortion throughout England and Wales last month.

Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, led the calls, saying that there were 'desperate women' who needed 'compassion not criminalisation', reported the BBC.