Abortion figures drop by almost 2%

The number of Irish women travelling to Britain for an abortion has dropped.

According to figures released today by the UK Department of Health, 6,217 Irish women travelled to Britain last year for an abortion.

This represents a 1.7% drop compared to the previous year.

However the figure does not necessarily tell the whole picture.

According to Niall Behan of the Irish Family Planning Association, women are now travelling to other continental countries for abortions, including France, Spain, The Netherlands and Belgium.