'Mums who can't afford another mouth to feed terminating wanted babies' - Sunderland baby bank

Kris Jepson visited the baby bank in Sunderland reporting mothers terminating wanted pregnancies due to the cost of living

Mothers are making the decision to terminate wanted pregnancies because they "cannot afford another mouth to feed", according to a Sunderland baby bank.

Steph Capewell, founder of Love Amelia, has told ITV Tyne Tees that pregnant women using its services have cited the cost of living service as forcing them to abort their longed for subsequent babies.

Labelling the crisis a "tragedy", she said "We are seeing families who sadly have had to terminate a wanted pregnancy, because they’re already raising children in poverty and just cannot afford that other mouth to feed or families who really want to grow their family and just sadly can’t.

"It’s beyond the means that they’ve got. It’s really difficult.

"We’ve seen a huge rise in mental health, people who are reporting isolation, and I think really wanting that child and not being able to feel you can afford that child is one of the worse things for any parent."

The comments come amid calls from campaigners for the government to introduce a national child poverty strategy in England.

Amanda Bailey, director of the North East Child Poverty Commission, told ITV News: "We haven't had a national child poverty strategy covering England since 2016.

"We need investment in children and families. We need a social security safety net, which genuinely does mean that families don't have to turn to food banks in order to feed their children - they don't have to go to baby banks for items like nappies.

"We need to see children and young people, and invest in them, as an in investment in our country."

Sunak questioned over 'cost of living abortions'

The claims about women terminating wanted pregnancies were first made in a report by the Child of the North cross-party group from January 2023.

Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields, alluded to the findings of the report during Prime Minister's Questions on 8 May, 2024.

She asked in the Commons: "Our Child of the North cross-party group found that expectant mothers were terminating wanted pregnancies as they could not afford another mouth to feed… is this his plan for a brighter Britain in action?"

Rishi Sunak responded by saying: "Obviously, what the honourable lady has just described is a tragedy.

"Nobody wants to see children grow up in those circumstances and that’s why I’m proud the government has overseen a significant fall in poverty, but particularly child poverty."

The Prime Minister then went on to tell her that he would "ensure" to make her aware of what support is available "for the most vulnerable families in our communities".

Ms Lewell-Buck told ITV News that Mr Sunak's response earlier this month made her "angry".

She added: "The North East has some of the highest levels of child poverty in the country, yet 70 per cent of those children are living in families where people are in work - working day in, day out for their poverty.

"I can't get over how angry I was after the PM's response [earlier this month]. He either is lacking in empathy or doesn't care."

The Department for Work and Pensions refused to comment further on the issue, referring ITV News to the Prime Minister's remarks on 8 May.

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