Hundreds of British babies victimized by sex-selective abortion 

Hundreds of unborn baby girls in the United Kingdom are believed to have been aborted because of their sex, according to government-linked data contradicting years of denial from abortion providers and activists. 

A report from the Department of Health and Social Care analyzing sex ratios at birth in England and Wales suggested around 400 sex-selective abortions took place between 2017 and 2021. The findings focused on births to families of Indian ethnicity, where statistically abnormal sex ratios appeared among third-born children and beyond. 

The report explained a birth ratio exceeding 107 boys per 100 girls may indicate sex-selective abortion. Among children of Indian ethnicity with a birth order of three or more, the ratio reached 113 boys per 100 girls. Based on this disparity, the report concluded “there may have been approximately 400 sex selective abortions to female fetuses of Indian ethnicity” over those five years. 

Britain’s largest abortion provider, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, says the country permits sex-selective abortion. 

“The law is silent on the [sex-selective abortion] matter,” its website says. “Reason of fetal sex is not a specified ground for abortion within the Abortion Act, but nor is it specifically prohibited.” 

That position directly conflicts with statements from the Department of Health and Social Care. 

A government spokesman told reporters last month, “This Government’s position is unequivocal: sex-selective abortion is illegal in England and Wales and will not be tolerated.” 

“Sex is not a lawful ground for termination of pregnancy, and it is a criminal offence for any practitioner to carry out an abortion for that reason alone,” the department added. 

An even bigger problem 

Critics argue the true scale of the problem may be higher. The report warned its statistical approach may fail to detect sex-selective abortion in smaller ethnic communities and does not rule out the practice elsewhere. 

The report also raised concerns about early sex determination through private non-invasive prenatal testing, which can identify fetal sex as early as seven weeks, long before NHS disclosure. 

Some abortion advocates have continued to deny the practice exists. 

In June 2025, Labour MP Stella Creasy said sex-selective abortion was a “trope” and argued “nobody can prove that abortion for sex selection reasons has happened.” 

Meanwhile, senior Conservative peer Baroness Eaton has proposed legislation to ban the practice. 

“This is a great tragedy to which society must not turn a blind eye,” she said.