‘Extortionate’ childcare costs pushing women to have abortions as terminations rise to record levels

A woman who had an abortion because she couldn’t afford another child is one of a growing number of parents terminating pregnancies because of financial pressures.

Leila*, a mother-of-one who works in the financial industry, told The Independent the staggering cost of childcare was one of the main drivers behind her decision to end her pregnancy in April 2021.

“If it wasn’t about the money, we would have had it,” the 39-year-old, who lives in Reading, said. “That took me a long time to get over. I feel like it wasn’t my decision, I feel like it was forced.”

She explained she feels guilt for her unborn child and her son over the fact he is likely to be an only child, adding she does “wonder if he is missing out” due to not having a sibling.

Exclusive data provided by Pregnant then Screwed found 87 per cent of parents using childcare say the cost is stopping them from having more children. While last year the organisation found six in 10 women who have had an abortion said the cost of childcare in the UK put them off pregnancy.

Meanwhile, the UK’s leading abortion provider has reported a record high in terminations as parents struggle with the “spiralling” cost of living crisis.

Exclusive figures from MSI Reproductive Choices UK, which has over 60 clinics across England, recorded a 31 per cent rise in terminations this February compared with February 2022 – from 5,772 to 7,562. There was also a 31 per cent rise in March, and a 28 per cent increase in April compared to last year.

The provider said the number of terminations had been “rising steadily” since 2020 but it had witnessed an “unprecedented” surge this year.

Leila said “extortionate” nursery fees were a major factor behind her decision. Her son’s nursery fees are £970 a month for three days a week, despite her and her partner having a combined income of over £80,000 a year.

“It was physically impossible financially [to have another child]. It would have been £1,950 a month on childcare. That is more than my partner earns a month. Expensive childcare is entrenching gender equality,” she explained.

Another woman, Sylvia Anna, told The Independent the cost of childcare “accounted for 70 per cent” of her decision to terminate an unplanned pregnancy in May 2021.

The 30-year-old said: “I’ve always wanted to have children. I was crying when I went through the abortion – more from emotional pain.

“At the time, I was earning £40,000 a year. I wouldn’t have been able to get a studio for myself and a kid.

“There is a lot of pressure for the childcare system to be changed and to be much more affordable, but nobody seems to be listening. Nobody cares. Honestly every day, I think about the abortion.”

Research carried out by Pregnant then Screwed found almost one in five women said childcare costs were the main reason they decided to terminate a pregnancy.

Campaigner Lauren Fabianski warned this was a “growing issue”, adding: “For a lot of these women choosing to have an abortion, these are wanted pregnancies.

“Some of these stories are particularly heartbreaking. We have heard from nurses, teachers, and headteachers, who people assume are on quite good incomes and should be able to afford these quite basic things. But to some of them, it would be the difference between having to use food banks or not.”

Paying for childcare for a second child would push them “below the poverty line”, she added.

It comes as the latest government data, released last summer, shows there were 214,869 abortions in England and Wales in 2021 – the highest number since the 1967 Abortion Act legalised terminations across the UK (except Northern Ireland).

Women living in the most deprived parts of England are more than twice as likely to have terminations than those in affluent areas, according to the figures published by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Louise McCudden, of MSI Reproductive Choices, said while there was “rarely one single reason” driving someone’s decision to have an abortion, its staff “are certainly hearing more and more stories where financial pressures play a bigger role”.

“Those hit hardest by the cost of living crisis are not only concerned about the cost of pregnancy or parenthood; they may be more likely to experience an unintended pregnancy in the first place.”

Ms McCudden said “unacceptably long waits for contraception” and the rise in domestic abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic were also behind the rise in abortions.

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), another leading abortion provider, added: “The majority of women who end a pregnancy are already mothers, and our clients tell us that they cannot bring another baby in to their family when they are already struggling to provide for their existing children.”

Ava*, a mother-of-one, 35, who lives just outside Portsmouth, had an abortion in February.

Ava, who works in defence consultancy, noted she and her partner have a joint salary of almost £90,000 and have a mortgage on their house. But childcare for two children would have cost them almost £1,500 a month – something they could not afford.

“I feel let down,” she added. “I feel disappointed. I am devastated. I am so angry. That is my last chance. That decision has been taken away from me by no fault of my own. I have been crying a lot.”

Ava, whose child is four, said she thinks about the abortion on a “daily basis” and said it was the “hardest decision” she has ever made in her life.

“I was in bits,” she recalled of the abortion. “I was absolutely broken. My child deserves a sibling. We’ve progressed so far in so many ways but we expect women to procreate but we don’t support women to procreate.”

*Leila and Ava’s names have been changed to protect their identity