the number of voluntary terminations of pregnancy increased by 3.7%

In 2023, 243,623 women had an abortion, 8,600 more than in 2022.

The number of voluntary terminations of pregnancy (IVG) carried out in France is up 3.7% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to figures published by the Directorate for Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) on Wednesday, September 25, which franceinfo was able to consult.

In 2023, 243,623 women had an abortion, 8,600 more than in 2022. “The increase in the number of IVGs observed in 2022 continues, after the sharp decline in 2020 and 2021 linked to the Covid-19 pandemic”observes the Drees.

According to the Drees, it is mainly medical abortions performed in medical practices that are increasing. There were 10,400 more in one year. Nearly half of these abortions outside hospitals and clinics were performed by midwives, far ahead of general practitioners. In 2023, 1,183 midwives performed 41,000 abortions while 888 general practitioners performed 22,500. Medical abortions, whether performed in a medical practice or in a health establishment, represent 79% of all abortions.

Invited on franceinfo on Wednesday, the president of Family Planning Sarah Durocher explains that “The increase in the number of abortions is not a problem” in itself. However, she questions the reasons for these appeals, which are linked in particular to the fact that there is ““very little information about contraception”recalling that “It’s been 10 years since there was a national campaign”.

This is also a problem “sex education”according to Sarah Durocher, who relies on the latest figures from the WHO which show in particular a drop in the use of contraception among young people, with almost a third of adolescents declaring that their last intercourse was not protected.

This increase is also the consequence of a “lack of access to health”with sometimes very long waits to see a gynecologist or a midwife in certain areas in a medical desert situation. The president of Family Planning finally mentions the capacity “to project oneself into an economic context” marked by “the question of increasing poverty” notably “among women and young people”.

The increase in the number of abortions concerns all women over 18 years old. This translates into an increase in the rate of recourse to IVG: 16.8 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 in 2023, compared to 16.2 per 1,000 in 2022, according to the medical-administrative sources used by the Drees for its report.

Late abortions performed after 12 weeks of pregnancy, authorized since March 2, 2022, represent only 10% of this increase. Other recent measures may explain this increase, such as the possibility of taking medication at home after a simple teleconsultation. More than 1,200 abortions were performed in these circumstances in 2023. There is also the possibility of having an abortion in town up to seven weeks of pregnancy. These measures had been put in place during the Covid pandemic and were maintained in 2023.

The Drees also notes that the rate of recourse is twice as high in the overseas departments and regions (DROM) as in mainland France. “In the DROM, the rates are between 19.4‰ in Mayotte and 48.9‰ in Guyana”the report details. In metropolitan France, these rates vary from 12.4‰ in Pays de la Loire to 23.3‰ in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.

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Methodology: The data used by Drees comes from the National Health Data System (SNDS). It allows the anonymous tracing of the care pathways of women who have had an IVG. This count of IVGs only takes into account the first act performed for a pregnancy.