There were 18,783 abortions in Scotland in 2025, the highest on record.
It represents a very disturbing 55% increase in abortions since 2016 when 12,135 abortions took place. The latest figures were released on Tuesday by Public Health Scotland. Also evident from the figures is that the abortion rate per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 has risen significantly, increasing from 11.9 in 2016 to 17.6 in 2025.
The 2025 data also indicates that 42.2% of abortions carried out were repeat procedures. There were 277 disability-selective abortions recorded in 2025, representing a 61.05% increase compared to 2018, when 172 such abortions were recorded. In addition, the number of abortions performed between 18 and 20 weeks gestation reached 138 in 2025 – up 50% from 92 cases in 2018.
Remarkably, there is a campaign in Scotland by abortion supporters to scrap the current 24-week abortion time limit entirely and allow abortion on request, including for sex-selective reasons, right up to birth. It underlines once again that, for the pro-abortion movement, there is no point at which further widening of access to abortion goes too far. We need to keep highlighting this to the general public.