0.006% of abortions to save mom's life

A report to Parliament has revealed abortions performed in the United Kingdom to save the life of the mother are a stunningly low 0.006 percent of procedures.

David Alton, who for 18 years was a member of the House of Commons, wrote, "When the case for allowing legal abortion was first placed before Parliament it was argued that the law needed to be changed to deal with extremely serious situations.

"More than six million abortions later the figures reveal that in 99.5 percent of the cases where an unborn child's life is ended there is no risk to the health of the mother," he said.

The details came in a response from Earl Howe, the parliamentary undersecretary of state in the nation's Department of Health, to Parliament. He confirmed from 1968 through 2011, the last year for which details were available, there were 6.4 million abortions for women in England and Wales.

"Of these, 143 (0.006 percent) were performed under Section 1(4), i.e. where the termination is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman," he wrote.

He noted another 24,778 were done on the grounds that a continued pregnancy would involve more risk to the mother than if the unborn child were destroyed.

Alton, who has worked with such organizations as Right to Life, G.K. Chesterton Institute, The Bible Society, UK Coptic Association and dozens more, has published books, with Martin Foley, on the subjects of euthanasia and abortion.

"With evidence accumulating of abortions carried out on the grounds of gender, and of forged authorization forms, these latest figures underline why a rigorous independent review of the 1967 [abortion] Act is long overdue and why society needs to reassess the presumption that ending the life of an unborn child is merely a matter of choice."

He said the killing simply has gotten out of control.

"Perhaps most worrying of the 2012 statistics is the high number of teenagers undergoing multiple abortions. The deep psychological effects abortion can have on a woman are well publicized and recognized by most as a critical concern," he said. "Despite this, little to nothing is being done to help those who have been through this process – with all the anguish and distress it entails –multiple times before they have even reached full emotional maturity."

He cited documentation for three teenage girls, who have had a combined total of 24 abortions.

"Behind every single statistic is a beating heart and we need to remind ourselves that the ending of every one of these six million lives is a tragedy," he said.

The Christian Institute reported just weeks ago that even supporters of abortion in the UK admit doctors have been approving abortions as needed simply because women "did not want their holidays spoilt by pregnancy."

At the time, a Daily Telegraph undercover report revealed women were given abortions when they told their doctors their baby was the "wrong sex."

The Christian Institute reported just last month it was revealed that 14 hospitals were having doctors simply sign blank forms, which later were used to justify the need for abortions.