Abortions are up.

 According to data from the Department of Health. - there has been a dramatic increase in the number of abortions. There were 251,377 in England and Wales in 2022. This is up from 214,286 in 2021. The most common age for an abortion is 22. In addition there was an increase in the number of abortions for women above the age of 35. The main reason given for this increase is - the cost of having a child as more and more people are experiencing financial pressures. The high costs of child care and interruptions in career progression - was also cited as being an underlying cause. Moreover there is clearly socioeconomic factors contributing to these decisions. This is a social problem for many countries, not only in the UK. There is another factor as families are less and less living in close proximity and grandparents aren't available for child care.