‘Abnormalities’ cited as reason for some abortions

LONDON — More than 2,000 abortions were performed last year in England and Wales on babies with medical problems, including some whose conditions could have been corrected by surgery.

There were 2,290 such abortions in 2010, according to the Department of Health, which released the statistics after a British pro-life organization won a court battle to have the information made public. Of those, 147 were performed on babies after 24 weeks gestation, when a child is often considered able to survive outside the womb.

As reported July 5 by The Daily Mail, abortions for “abnormalities” included 482 for children diagnosed with Down syndrome and 128 for babies with spina bifida.

The lives of other unborn children were ended for problems that might have been alleviated by surgery — 181 abortions for musculoskeletal problems such as a club foot and seven for a cleft palate, according to the newspaper.

There were 26 abortions since 2002 for a cleft palate, it was reported.

There were 189,574 abortions in 2010 in England and Wales, according to LifeSiteNews.