Some statistics on teenage pregnancy, abortion and sexually transmitted infections

I am just preparing a a review of the year, and these statistics were pulled together for me so I thought you may find them useful in one place.

Teenage conceptions

1. The under 18 conception rate for 2011 is the lowest since 1969 at 30.9 conceptions per thousand women aged 15–17.
2. The estimated number of conceptions to women aged under 18 also fell to 31,051 in 2011 compared with 34,633 in 2010, a decrease of 10%.
3. The estimated number of conceptions to girls aged under 16 was 5,991 in 2011, compared with 6,674 in 2010 (a fall of 10%).

Abortions

1. The percentage of conceptions leading to a legal abortion varies by age group.
2. Over the last two decades this figure has generally increased for women aged under 20 but decreased for women aged 35 and over.
3. For women in their twenties and early thirties the percentage of conceptions leading to a legal abortion generally increased between 1991 and 2001 but decreased steadily until 2009-2010 before increasing slightly in 2011.
4. There were 196,082 abortions notified as taking place in England and Wales in 2011
5. Of these, 189,931 abortions were to residents of England and Wales. This represents a rate of 17.5 per 1,000 resident women aged 15-44.  
6. The abortion rate increased from 5.2 in 1969 to a peak of 18.6 in 2007. The rate fell to 18.2 in 2008 and to 17.5 in 2009 and has remained at 17.5 since then.

Sexually Transmitted Infections


The Annual Health Protection Agency report showed the largest increases of new diagnoses between 2010 and 2011 was found in men who have sex with men:

1. New STI diagnoses rose by two per cent from 2010 to 2011 with nearly 427,000 new cases
2. Primarily associated with increased rates of gonorrhoea, syphilis and genital herpes
3. Young heterosexuals and men who have sex with men remained at highest risk, with increases in testing and continuing high levels of unsafe sexual behaviour contributing to the rises recorded.

• Gonorrhoea increased by 61 per cent
• Chlamydia by 48 per cent
• Syphilis by 28 per cent.

Amongst heterosexuals overall rates remained highest in young adults (15-24 years old), accounting for:

• 57 per cent of all new gonorrhoea diagnoses
• 56 per cent of all new genital warts diagnoses
• 43 per cent of all new genital herpes diagnoses.

Astounding judgement on abortion data

On Thursday the Information Tribunal ruled that Department of Health must release statistical data on abortions that take place after 24 weeks owing to foetal abnormality. This comes at the end of a six year effort from Department of Health to ensure that the confidentiality of the small number of women who have to make an incredibly difficult decision to terminate their pregnancy at a late stage of gestation is protected.

The Department of Health stopping publishing the data in 2003 after the Reverend Joanna Jepson asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate a case which led to a doctor being identified and targeted by an anti choice organisation .

I had been expecting the judgement imminently, however you know when you are shocked and have to reread an email a few times to be sure you have read it right - this was one of those emails. I was particularly surprised that the judgement went against the DH because when the case was being heard in the Courts, a high profile doctor who carried out abortions in the USA was shot dead by an individual who opposed his work - and whilst there is a different culture here there is no doubt that individuals can and do get targeted in the UK as well.

That is why both Brook and fpa have urged the DH to take this case to the high court. If a small number of women and their doctors are going to be failed by a system which potentially allows anti abortion groups to identify and put pressure on individuals then I for one want to be sure that everything that could possibly be done to stop this incredibly damaging move has been done.