More than a thousand girls a year aged under 15 have an abortion, figures have revealed.
Terminations are being carried out on youngsters aged just 12 or 13 who have only just started secondary school.
And every year nearly 4,000 procedures are undertaken on girls who have not yet reached their 16th birthday, the legal age of consent.
Campaigners warned the alarming figures, revealed by the Department of Health, were representative of a society where abortion was ‘on demand,' even for very young girls who legally should not be having sex.
The official statistics show that since 2002 more than 35,262 abortions were carried out on girls under the age of 16.
Last year 3,718 procedures were carried out on girls aged 16 or under, including 1,040 on girls aged 14 or younger.
Of these girls, 134 were just 13 and two just 12 years old. For the first time the figures show the exact numbers of abortions carried out on girls in each age group under 16.
Breakdown
In the past, the Department of Health has only published figures for the under-14s as a whole and the under-16s, never with a breakdown per year.
The figures show that previously abortions have been carried out on girls aged 11 who have not even started secondary school.
Since 2002 three such terminations were performed, although there were none last year.
Campaigners said the figures were extremely worrying, particularly as a termination could be very upsetting for the youngsters.
Some of them were aged just 12 or 13
Terminations are being carried out on youngsters aged just 12 or 13 who have only just started secondary school.
And every year nearly 4,000 procedures are undertaken on girls who have not yet reached their 16th birthday, the legal age of consent.
Campaigners warned the alarming figures, revealed by the Department of Health, were representative of a society where abortion was ‘on demand,' even for very young girls who legally should not be having sex.
The official statistics show that since 2002 more than 35,262 abortions were carried out on girls under the age of 16.
Last year 3,718 procedures were carried out on girls aged 16 or under, including 1,040 on girls aged 14 or younger.
Of these girls, 134 were just 13 and two just 12 years old. For the first time the figures show the exact numbers of abortions carried out on girls in each age group under 16.
Breakdown
In the past, the Department of Health has only published figures for the under-14s as a whole and the under-16s, never with a breakdown per year.
The figures show that previously abortions have been carried out on girls aged 11 who have not even started secondary school.
Since 2002 three such terminations were performed, although there were none last year.
Campaigners said the figures were extremely worrying, particularly as a termination could be very upsetting for the youngsters.
