Pro-life and pro-choice groups as well as statutory agencies have welcomed the continued decrease in the number of women giving Irish addresses when seeking abortions in Britain.
Figures issued by the British department of health yesterday show the number of women who gave Irish addresses at British abortion clinics fell last year - from 5,585 in 2005 to 5,042 in 2006.
This is the sixth consecutive annual decline since 2001 when the figure was 6,673. It fell to 6,522 in 2002, to 6,320 in 2003 and 6,217 in 2004. Significantly, there has also been a fall in the abortion rate per 1,000 Irish women in the 15 to 44 age group, from 7.5 in 2001 to 5.2 last year.
Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) chairwoman Katharine Bulbulia described the figures as "heartening" while the pro-choice Safe and Legal campaign welcomed them but said they did "not reflect the full picture".
The Pro-Life Campaign welcomed the fall in numbers and indicated that a trend towards abortion "is not inevitable".
However, its spokesman said the figures remained "extremely high" and left "no room for complacency".
The Safe and Legal campaign said the decline in Irish addresses at British clinics was welcome but attributed this in part to Irish women travelling in greater numbers to the Netherlands, Belgium and other European countries.
"This is due to the prohibitive sterling-euro differential. Abortions in the UK can cost up to £1,300, with additional costs for travel and accommodation."
Ms Bulbulia said there were no statistics to back up this claim, but added that the CPA was conducting a "scoping study" to examine the issue.
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