The number of abortions continues to increase in Spain. In 2023, a 4.8% more were performed than in the previous year. The health ministry of the government registered 103,097.

That is a significant figure, because for the first time in the last ten years it has exceeded the barrier of 100,000 cases.

One quarter of the abortions were carried out when the baby was more than eight weeks old. Over 81% of those abortions took place in private centres.

Up to 98,850 abortions were performed at the woman's request. Only 3,294 were due to serious risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman, and 2,688 due to risk of serious foetal anomalies, in addition to 263 due to foetal anomalies incompatible with life or cases of extremely serious and incurable illness.

Almost half did not use contraceptive methods

Data from the Spanish health ministry also show that almost half (46.5%) of the women who requested a voluntary termination of pregnancy were not using contraceptive methods.

There has also been a generalised increase among the different age groups of women who have had an abortion, especially among those under 19, with an increase of 4.78% compared to 2022.

The age groups in which most abortions were performed are between 16 and 24 (23,768), and between 25 and 29 (22,608). Also between 30 and 34, the number of abortions exceeded the 20,000 mark (20,262).

In 2023, the abortion rate reached 12.22 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.

According to the ministry of health, 31% of the women who had an abortion lived with their partner. 6 in ten women who ended their pregnancy were employed.

Around 35% had already had an abortion

The official data also show that about 35% of women had already had an abortion before.

For 22% it was their second time, while 7% had aborted for the third time. 2,454 women (2.4%) voluntarily terminated their pregnancy for the fourth time, 1.6% (1,744) for the fifth time or more.

Pharmacological method on the rise

According to the health service, the surgical method continues to be the most widely used (69.77%), and the pharmacological method, which consists of administering the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol to terminate a pregnancy before nine weeks, has gained ground over the last year in Spain.

Although the pharmacological method represented less than 10% of abortions performed in Spain in 2023, it was the most widely used in regions such as Cantabria (96.50%), Navarra (76%), the Balearic Islands (74%), La Rioja (68%), Galicia (60%) and Catalonia (56%).