France: Sharp Increase in the Number of Abortions

In total, 234,000 abortions were recorded in 2022, 7,000 more than in 2019 and 17,000 more than in 2021. The highest level recorded in 30 years, in 1990.

Since March 2022, the legal deadline for recourse to an abortion has been extended by two weeks, standing today at 14 weeks. The extension of two weeks (from 12 to 14) of the legal gestational period, provided for in the March 2022 law, “is not enough to explain this increase,” notes the Drees, with most late abortions representing “less than one- fifth of the increase observed compared to the year 2021.”

The reasons may also be found in the measures that have simplified the process for women who wish to have an abortion.

Could this calculation be biased by the increase in population? No, because it is among women aged 20 to 29 that abortions remain the most frequent, with a recourse rate of 26.9 abortions per 1000 women between 20 and 24 years old (+ 2.6 points compared to 2021) and 28.6 abortions per 1000 between 25 and 29 years old (+ 2.2 points).

Between 2021 and 2022, “the access rates increase for all adult women with a more marked increase among 20-29 year olds,” notes Drees.

As for territorial disparities, they remain, with an access rate which can “vary by a factor of two” depending on the region, but which is increasing overall in all metropolitan regions as well as in the overseas departments and regions, with the exception of Guadeloupe.

Some have tried to curb the trend. At the end of May and the beginning of June, the actions of the Les Survivants [the Survivors] collective – “pro-life” collages on Vélib’ bikes in Paris and advertising posters in Lyon – have left their mark on public opinion, invigorating some, frightening others.

The institutions listened more to those who were frightened: last Wednesday, the City of Paris launched a “major campaign in favor of the fundamental right to abortion,” presented with billboards and flyers distributed in the streets.

These terrible abortion statistics should be compared with the drop in birth rates observed last year. This decline signals a loss of hope for the future among the French population.