Six Cork women travel to UK for an abortion each week

Six Cork women travel to the UK for an abortion each week, according to a media report.

Information released to the Corkman newspaper by the UK’s Department of Health, shows that 1,304 women with addresses in Cork travelled to England and Wales for an abortion between 2008 and 2011.

A total of 17,574 Irish women sought abortions in the same timeframe.

The figures also disclosed that slightly over 70% of the abortions were carried out in the first nine weeks of pregnancy, while 18% of terminations were provided to women who had previously had one or more abortion.

Three percent of those crossing the channel for an abortion were under the age of 18, while over a quarter were between the ages of 20 and 24.

Seven percent were over the age of 40.

Well over half (61%) were under the age of 30.

Abortion in the UK has been legal since 1967, with 98.5% of Cork women granted a termination on ‘Ground C’, which allows for abortion in cases where ‘continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman’.

Our North Cork edition - an average of 6 #Cork women a week go to the UK for an abortion, our investigaton reveals. pic.twitter.com/OvIkEOoB

— The Corkman (@Corkman_ie) December 13, 2012