A disturbing story out of the United Kingdom reveals an alarming increase in the number of abortions being performed on British women in their 40s. Numerous media outlets are chronicling the tragic trajectory. The rampant and rising killing of unborn babies is lamentable no matter the precipitating cause. In this case, however, the cultural catastrophe suspected of contributing to this statistic is remarkable only in that its relation to the abortion epidemic among women approaching middle age is predictable.
Just what are the homegrown papers saying about the acceleration in the abortion rate in this specific demographic? This is from The Telegraph:
Experts said the dramatic rise reflects increased sexual activity among older women, and higher numbers of single women and divorcees — who are far more likely than previous generations to have casual sex or short-term relationships.
The head of Britain’s biggest abortion provider said women in their 40s — dubbed “The Sex and the City generation” — were increasingly inclined to take chances with contraception, only to be shocked when they became pregnant.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: “I think women are generally remaining sexually active for longer, and women in their 40s increasingly see themselves as sexual players — whether or not they are in relationships — in a way that they didn’t even a decade ago.”
The popularity of promiscuity among grown women in Great Britain is no secret to observers. Add to that the confirmation of this casual attitude toward the most sacred of intimate relationships found in scientific studies and the subsequent surfeit of abortions is predictable.
Beginning in 2008, several studies and supporting surveys indicated that British men and women are the most promiscuous group among their peers in the so-called industrialized world.
It appears the days when we took a strict moralistic approach towards sex are long gone.
Researchers blamed the situation on a decline of religious scruples, the growth of equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture.
According to a survey, British men and women are among the most promiscuous in the world
The findings of several research studies were reported in an article published in 2008 in the British paper, the Daily Mail:
They found that when it comes to one-night stands, numbers of partners and attitudes to casual sex, Britain leads the field, ahead of even liberal nations such as the Netherlands and the passionate Italians.
The researchers believe that our place at the top of the table could be linked to the way society has become more tolerant of sexual promiscuity among women as well as men. Women are now as accepting of one-night stands as men, they claimed. The research was led by David Schmitt, a professor of psychology at Bradley University, Illinois.
He said: “Historically we have repressed women’s short-term mating and there are all sorts of double standards out there where men’s short-term mating was sort of acceptable but women’s wasn’t.”
More than 14,000 people in 48 countries were asked to fill in questionnaires where they were quizzed about numbers of partners and one-night stands. Their attitudes were assessed by asking them how many people they expected to sleep with over the next five years and how comfortable they were with the idea of casual sex.
The results of the study were combined with an index of “sociosexuality” — a measure of how liberal people are when it comes to sex. Most people scored between four and 65, with higher scores showing more liberal approaches. In terms of countries, Finland had the highest rating with an average score of 52 and Taiwan the lowest with just 19.
Britain scored 40, placing it 11th overall, behind countries such as Latvia, Croatia and Slovenia — but it was highest among major Western industrial nations with a population of 10 million or more.
The results are part of wider research carried out by Professor Schmitt, who releases this part of his study in this week’s edition of New Scientist magazine.
Similar reports were published by the venerable Times of London in its Sunday edition. The story in an article published around the time of the Daily Mail piece cited above paints the same pernicious picture.
British men and women are now the most promiscuous of any big western industrial nation, researchers have found.
In an international index measuring one-night stands, total numbers of partners and attitudes to casual sex, Britain comes out ahead of Australia, the US, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
The researchers behind the study say high scores such as Britain’s may be linked to the way society is increasingly willing to accept sexual promiscuity among women as well as men. They also believe that, among certain age groups and at certain times, men and women are equally liberal.
And this:
The study was conducted by asking more than 14,000 people in 48 countries to fill in anonymous questionnaires. Respondents were asked about numbers of partners and one-night stands, and their attitudes were assessed by asking them how many people they expected to sleep with over the next five years and how comfortable they were with the idea of casual sex.
Although inarguably a link in the causal chain, promiscuity itself is not the ultimate and deciding factor that has led to the shameful rise in Britain’s killing of the unborn.
The Times article took a few reasonable steps further back in the likely line of cultural decompositions that have eroded the traditional opposition to this evil practice.
Britain’s ranking was ascribed to factors such as the decline of religious scruples about extramarital sex, the growth of equal pay and equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture.
Schmitt said that in more liberal countries such as Britain women may even be becoming more promiscuous than men. Such trends are typified by the television series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, in which Billie Piper played a middle-class prostitute who relished her numerous sexual encounters.
There is hope that America may look to Great Britain as a bellwether of the consequence of casual attitudes toward sex — and recognize that similar behavior here will lead to similar consequences.
We rightly concern ourselves about preventing the invasion of the United States across our southern border. With these latest British statistics in mind, however, perhaps we should be more actively engaged in protecting our homes from the invasion of immorality blasting through the television, an enemy with a firm stronghold in nearly every household in our Republic.
