In the UK, all abortion clinics must be approved by the Secretary of State in order to gain a licence that permits the clinic to carry out abortions. This legislation ensures that the procedures are carried out safely.

NHS clinics are automatically licensed, however private abortion clinics need to apply for a licence. To do this they need to contact the Care Quality Commission, who will register the abortion clinic once they have ascertained that they comply with the Care Standards Act 2000.

Aside from this there are strict regulations that abortion clinics must adhere to. They must comply with the Regulations for Independent Health Care as well as the Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy. Failure to adhere to these abortion laws can result in the withdrawal of their licence.

Once an abortion clinic is licensed, the Department of Health does spot checks to ensure they are meeting the requirements of the Abortion Act and are offering high standards of service. These checks are done unannounced and on a regular basis.

If you want to check whether the abortion clinic you’re visiting is licensed, check the Department of Health website.

• Nearly half of all pregnancies to American women are unintended; four in 10 of these end in abortion.
• About half of American women have experienced an unintended pregnancy, and at current rates more than one-third (35%) will have had an abortion by age 45.
• Overall unintended pregnancy rates have stagnated over the past decade, yet unintended pregnancy increased by 29% among poor women while decreasing 20% among higher-income women.
• In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million abortions in 2000.
• Nine in 10 abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

A broad cross section of U.S. women have abortions:

• 56% of women having abortions are in their 20s;
• 61% have one or more children;
• 67% have never married;
• 57% are economically disadvantaged;
• 88% live in a metropolitan area; and
• 78% report a religious affiliation.

Source: Guttmacher Institute

see full report: http://www.guttmacher.org

After a Decade-Long Decline, U.S. Teen Pregnancy Rate Increases as Both Births and Abortions Rise

 A new data from the Guttmacher Institute said that the gap between blacks and hispanics has closed, but rates among both groups remain significantly higher than among non-hispanic whites.

“It coincides with an increase in rigid abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, which received major funding boosts under the Bush administration. A strong body of research shows that these programs do not work. Fortunately, the heyday of this failed experiment has come to an end with the enactment of a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative that ensures that programs will be age-appropriate, medically accurate and, most importantly, based on research demonstrating their effectiveness.” Heather Boonstra, Guttmacher Institute senior public policy associate says.

The teen pregnancy rate declined 41% between its peak, in 1990, and 2005 . Teen birth and abortion rates also declined, with births dropping 35% between 1991 and 2005 and teen abortion declining 56% between its peak, in 1988, and 2005. But all three trends reversed in 2006. In that year, there were 71.5 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15–19. Put another way, about 7% of teen girls became pregnant in 2006.

Just as the long-term declines in teen pregnancy occurred among all racial and ethnic groups through 2005, the reversal in 2006 also involved all demographic groups:

• Among black teens, the pregnancy rate declined by 45% (from 223.8 per 1,000 in 1990 to 122.7 in 2005), before increasing to 126.3 in 2006.
• Among Hispanic teens, the pregnancy rate decreased by 26% (from 169.7 per 1,000 in 1992 to 124.9 in 2005), before rising to 126.6 in 2006.
• Among non-Hispanic white teens, the pregnancy rate declined 50% (from 86.6 per 1,000 in 1990 to 43.3 per 1,000 in 2005), before increasing to 44.0 in 2006.

Because the decline among black teens was so much greater than that among Hispanics, the long-standing gap between the two groups has disappeared. However, the gap between white teens and teens of color is as large as ever.

State-level data are not yet available for 2006, but varied widely in 2005. The highest pregnancy rates were in New Mexico (93 per 1,000 women 15–19), Nevada (90), Arizona (89), Texas (88) and Mississippi (85), and the lowest rates were in New Hampshire (33), Vermont (40), Maine (48), Minnesota (47) and North Dakota (46). Teen pregnancy rates declined in every state between 1988 and 2000, and in every state except North Dakota between 2000 and 2005.

“It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short term fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would be of great concern,” says Lawrence Finer, Guttmacher’s director of domestic research. “Either way, it is clearly time to redouble our efforts to make sure our young people have the information, interpersonal skills and health services they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to become sexually healthy adults..”