54,000 hospital admissions as a result of pills-by-post - SPUC

More than 54,000 women in England have been admitted to NHS hospitals for treatment following complications linked to abortion pills since the government introduced pills-by-post in 2020. Analysis of official data from NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) shows that one in 17 women who manage their abortion at home require hospital care for incomplete abortions or other serious side-effects. Despite the scale of the problem, neither the government nor abortion providers report these figures annually, leaving many women unaware of the risks they face. NHS data published in September 2025 showed that 12,140 women were admitted to hospital for abortion-related complications in 2024–25 alone, following a steady year-on-year rise since the scheme’s launch. Most abortions in England now occur at home, with 75 percent self-managed in 2022. The two largest providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices, claim the failure rate is between 2 and 3 percent. However …