The figure of abortions in England and Wales has risen somewhat for the subsequent year running, according to new statistics.

There were 189,931 abortions performed for women occupant in England and Wales in 2011, a 0.2 per cent increase on the 189,574 figure in 2010 and 7.7 per cent extra than the 176,364 total in 2001, statistics available on the division of Health website have exposed.

The rise comes after the 2010 shape also registered a small boost on the previous year – up 0.3 per cent on the 189,100 total in 2009.

In spite of the raise, the abortion rate last year remained unaffected on the 2010 figure at 17.5 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years old.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said: “Abortion is a fact of life, because contraception fails and from time to time we fail to use it properly.

“It is a service that one third of women will require in the course of their reproductive lifetimes so they can map the timing and size of their families, and play a full role in culture.

“There is no ‘right’ number of abortions over and beyond ensuring that every woman who needs to end an superfluous pregnancy can do so, and that obstacles are not put in the way of her accessing supportive services as quickly as possible.

“What matters most is that all women can access the contraception that is most suitable to them, and that services are able to put up all age groups.”