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Abortions in Tayside: 'shock' new figures

Abortion rates in Tayside are so high that for every 1000 live births in the region a further 300 pregnancies are terminated, ‘shock’ new figures revealed today.

The official statistics — which prompted outrage from a leading pro-life group in Tayside — also show the rate of abortions among women aged 15-44 was higher in Tayside last year than in any other Scottish health authority.

The number of terminations — a total of 1297 — was also the greatest performed in the region since records began in 1991.

Almost 400 of the abortions in Tayside last year were among women under 20 and half of terminations came from individuals living in the most deprived sectors of society.

Clare McGraw of Dundee’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said the statistics were ‘a shocking indictment of a society failing to support vulnerable women’.

She said: “It is a sad statement about life in Dundee, not just (for) the babies who have been aborted but the women whose lives will be scarred forever.

“The fact women in the most deprived areas have the highest rate (of abortion) shows this isn’t about choice. They are already living in deprived circumstances so how are our laws and authorities helping them?"

Full story at the Dundee Evening Telegraph.