Women over the age of 30 and those who are married are having an increasing number of abortions.
Figures from the Department of Health show in the last 10 years, abortion rates for women aged 30 to 34 has risen from 14.5 per 1,000 women in 2005 to 17.1 in 2015. It represents an 18 per cent rise.
Rates for women aged 35 or over have also gone up from 6.8 per 1,000 women to 7.8 during the same period - a 15 per cent increase.
The total number of abortions carries out in England and Wales in 2015 was 185,824.
Some 29,358 abortions were for those who were married or in a civil partnership, while 96,564 were to women who were not married but had a partner, the figures show.
Overall in 2015, almost 70 per cent of those ending a pregnancy were stated as being married or with a partner, compared with 48 per cent 10 years earlier.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: “Ultimately unplanned pregnancy is a fact of life. Contraception fails and sometimes we fail to use it properly.
“It remains extremely important that women of all reproductive ages have access to high quality contraceptive services that meet their needs at every life stage.”
Additional reporting by Press Association.
