Number of abortions in France reaches highest level in 30 years

In 2022 the number of medical abortions in France reached its highest level since 1990, thanks to a simplified process for women wishing to terminate unwanted pregnancies.

A woman reads a brochure about abortion rights at a health centre in Paris. © AFP - Geoffroy Van der Hasselt

Last year 234,300 abortions were recorded in France, 218,400 of them on the mainland, according to a study published on Wednesday by public statistical agency Drees.

The figure is up after two years of decline due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of the procedures were medical abortions, carried out outside hospital. They most frequently involved  women aged between 20 and 29.

While the deadline to get an abortion was extended from 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy at the beginning of 2022, these so-called "late" abortions accounted for only 20 percent of the 7,000 additional procedures recorded in one year.

Process simplified

Other measures have simplified the process for people wishing to have an abortion.

Since 2021, they no longer have to pay in advance for tests and procedures that cost several hundred euros.

They can also request anonymity and carry out the entire process by video consultation, taking the medication at home. The practice, which was authorised during the first lockdown in 2020, has been extended.

In 2022, there were 144,600 in-hospital abortions and 89,600 out-of-hospital abortions, including those carried out by video consultation and surgical abortions in health centres.

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📅 C'est la journée mondiale du droit à l'#avortement.

En France, l'#IVG est possible pour toutes les #femmes qui souhaitent interrompre leur grossesse, qu'elles soient majeures ou mineures ✅

Quel délai légal ? Quelles modalités ? ⤵ pic.twitter.com/z9NjSYo2fe

— Ministère de la Santé et de la Prévention (@Sante_Gouv) September 28, 2023

Medical abortions on the rise

The study highlights that it is mainly medical abortions that are on the increase.

These accounted for almost eight out of ten procedures in 2022, or 78 percent. This compares with 68 percent of abortions in 2019 and 31 percent in 2000.

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It follows a rule change in 2020 that now allows women to choose a medical abortion up to nine weeks into their pregnancy, instead of seven weeks.

Just over half of all medical abortions were carried out in hospital. In 44 percent of cases, they took place in a private practice and in 5 percent at a clinic or sexual health centre.