Britain records high abortion rate in IVF pregnancies

Around 750 women in Britain who had become pregnant through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in the past 19 years aborted their babies, the country's fertility watchdog has said.

Around 750 women in Britain who had become pregnant through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in the past 19 years aborted their babies, the country's fertility watchdog has said.

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Most of the abortions were within weeks of the test tube baby being implanted because of a "change of heart" by the mothers, said the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

A small number were due to medical complications, the Daily Express reported.

In the 19 years since the authority has kept statistics, 749 IVF pregnancies have been aborted. The figure was obtained through a freedom of information request.

Half of the terminations were a result of "relationship breakdown" or fears over motherhood.

Josephine Quintavalle, of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said, "A baby is not a designer object to be rejected on second thought."