Voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortions) increased in France in 2022.
- After two years of exceptional decline in 2020 and 2021 linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of abortions increased in 2022.
- In 2022, 234,300 voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortions) were recorded in France, i.e. 17,000 more than in 2021 and around 7,000 more than in 2019.
- It is in the age group of 20 to 29 that abortions remain most frequent.
The number of voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortion) increased in 2022, according to a new DREES survey.
“The Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) publishes a study on the use of voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in 2022, which is increasing after two years of exceptional decline in 2020 and 2021 linked to the Covid-19 pandemic”, can we read at the beginning of the report.
234,300 voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortions) in 2022
In 2022, 234,300 voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortions) were recorded in France, i.e. 17,000 more than in 2021 and around 7,000 more than in 2019.
It is in the age group of 20 to 29 that abortions remain the most frequent: the recourse rate rises to 26.9% in 2022 among young women aged 20-24 (+ 2. 6 points compared to 2021) and reached 28.6% for those aged 25-29 (+2.2 points). “Between 2021 and 2022, recourse rates increase for all adult women with a more marked increase among 20-29 year olds”, the report states.
IVG: territorial disparities are marked
In 2022, abortion rates will increase in all metropolitan regions as well as in the overseas territories, with the exception of Guadeloupe. “Territorial disparities are marked since recourse rates vary by a factor of two depending on the region,” public health experts analyze. In mainland France, for example, they increase from 11.6% in Pays de la Loire to 22.6% in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
Since 2020, the share of abortions performed outside health establishments has increased, reaching 38% in 2022. The medicinal method is the most used, including in health establishments. It represents 78% of all abortions and 62% of those carried out in health establishments.
Extension of the legal deadline for recourse to abortion
“The conditions of access to abortion were broadened by the law of March 2, 2022 with a two-week extension of the legal duration for those carried out in a health establishment”, also recalls the DREES. Among the latter, 55% are at less than eight weeks of amenorrhea (SA) and 76% at less than ten weeks. The share of late abortions affected by the extension of the legal appeal period is less than 1.5% of all this type of intervention carried out in France.
