There have been conflicting reactions to figures about Manx women travelling to the UK to have an abortion.

According to the latest UK government statistics, the number of Manx women having terminations is the lowest in the last 15 years.

The UK Department of Health has released its annual statistical report on the number and type of abortions that take place in England and Wales. Scotland has its own system.

The latest figures show that the number of Manx women who went for abortions in the UK fell from 105 in 2015 to 88 in 2016.

Terminations in the Isle of Man are allowed only up to 24 weeks where it is necessary to preserve the woman’s life, the foetus is unlikely to survive or is seriously handicapped, or within 12 weeks of conception if the pregnancy is caused by rape, incest or indecent assault.

The upshot of that is that very few terminations are carried out in the island each year under the 1995 Act and women are faced with the choice of continuing an unwanted pregnancy or travelling to the UK for a termination at a private clinic at a cost of between £500 and £1,700 plus travel costs.

HEAR (Humanity and Equality in Abortion Reform), a group that campaigns against lifting restrictions on abortion, says the statistics show that 170 abortions were recorded as taking place on Manx residents in 2002. Since then the figure has declined, falling below 100 for the first time this century in 2011 but increasing to 105 last year.

HEAR spokesperson Hannah Grove said: ’We hugely welcome the continued dramatic decline over time in the number of abortions undertaken by Manx residents in the UK. This shows that there is no need to worsen right-to-life protections for unborn children on the Isle of Man based on any perceived demand from women on the island.

’In England and Wales, they have serious issues of eugenic abortion, sex-selective abortion, repeat abortions, degraded conscience rights for medical professionals, and other abuses. This is all because their law and their regulation is so weak.

’We do not need any of that here, and the reason we do not have it is because we learnt from the UK experience in 1995, and framed our abortion law with far greater care than they did.

’Our law could certainly be humanised, but it certainly does not need worsening as the abortion lobby wish. Let us increase support for women in unplanned pregnancy and thereby further enable the society these UK statistics show we are increasingly becoming one that respects the humanity, dignity, and rights of all human beings, especially those most vulnerable in the womb.’

There are much tighter restrictions on women getting an abortion in the Isle of Man than in England.

CALM, the Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation, says that the need for abortion reform is as strong as ever and that many women are now turning to the internet for pills to induce terminations.

Samantha Heard, spokesperson for CALM, said: ’The statistics are not giving the full picture.

’The 88 figure is only those who have travelled across who have given a Manx address and had an abortion through legal means.

’Anybody who has given a UK address or ordered tablets from the internet illegally are not included in the statistics.

’More women take tablets and are risking their health and risk being prosectuted.’

Dr Alex Allinson. MHK for Ramsey, has a private member’s bill to change the law on abortion.

It would see abortion on request up to 14 weeks and terminations available up to 24 weeks if there are serious health concerns, serious social grounds or severe foetal abnormalities.

In January it passed the first hurdle in the House of Keys.

Dr Allinson was seconded by Clare Bettison (Douglas East) who said a woman’s means should not dictate her options. She said some were being ’forced to break the law to access vital healthcare’.

Only three MHKs voted against Dr Allinson’s motion - Health Minister Kate Beecroft, Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer and Douglas East MHK Chris Robertshaw.