A total of 5,497 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland between 2020 and 2023.iStock
More than 5,000 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland over three years after abortion was decriminalized, according to figures published by the Northern Ireland Department of Health.
Abortion, which was decriminalized in Northern Ireland in October 2019 and became law in March 2020, rose steadily in Northern Ireland in the three years after it became legal.
The newly released figures highlight that there were 1,574 abortions carried out in Northern Ireland between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, compared to 1,755 abortions carried out between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022.
A total of 2,168 abortions were carried out in the region between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, with a total of 5,497 abortions carried out over the three-year period.
The number of abortions carried out on women under the age of 18, with 46 abortions carried out on under 18s in the 2020/21 period.
In 2021/22, there were 54 abortions carried out on under 18s, while there were 60 abortions carried out on women of that age group in 2022/23.
Abortions were consistently highest for women aged 18-34, reaching a high of 1,663 in 2022/23.
There were 362 abortions carried out on women aged 35 and over in 2020/21, which fell to 309 in 2021/22.
The figure reached a high of 409 in 2022/23.
The Belfast Trust carried out the most abortions in Northern Ireland each year, carrying out 667 abortions in 2022/23. Meanwhile, the Western Trust carried out the fewest abortions over the three-year period.
Northern Ireland's abortion legislation allows abortions to take place before 12 weeks of gestation or before 24 weeks of gestation if there is a risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
In exceptional circumstances when the mother's life is at risk or there has been a diagnosis of fatal fetal abnormality, abortions may be performed after 24 weeks.
Abortions after 24 weeks accounted for just 11 of the 5,497 abortions carried out over the three years, with the vast majority of abortions carried out within 10 weeks.