"The data shows how boys are being favoured more than girls."
Data reveals a record number of baby girls are being aborted by Indian parents living in Britain because they prefer boys.
A Mail on Sunday investigation found hundreds of pregnancies were terminated on the basis of sex over the past four years. This is despite clear Government guidance stating the practice is illegal.
Office for National Statistics figures show that between 2021 and 2025, around 118 boys were born to Indian mothers for every 100 girls.
Across all ethnicities, the national average is about 105 boys per 100 girls.
The Government’s accepted upper limit for the boy-to-girl birth ratio is 107 to 100. Statisticians say anything above that level suggests sex-selective practices, including abortion or IVF.
Experts say the figures point to sex-selective abortions happening at record levels within the British Indian community. They also warn that some women may be under pressure from husbands or wider family members.
Rani Bilkhu, founder of domestic abuse charity Jeena International, said:
“The data shows how boys are being favoured more than girls.
“This shows how community pressures – be it husbands or families, are leading women to abort girls.
“Don’t forget, some women are also led to abort girls because they have been brought up to believe boys are better than girls, that boys carry the family name, and girls don’t. They feel they are worth more if they give birth to boys.
“I feel boys in the Indian community have the ‘prince syndrome.’ They are better. This is actually not just an issue about abortion, it is about gender equality.”
The imbalance is not seen across all births. Data shows that first and second children born to Indian mothers match the national average.
The gap appears at third births. In the 2021/22 financial year, the ratio for third children was 114 boys for every 100 girls.
This fell slightly to 109 boys per 100 girls the following year. In the 2023/24 financial year, it rose sharply to 118 boys per 100 girls and remained at that level the year after.
Experts believe some Indian mothers, who may already have two daughters, are ending third pregnancies if scans show the baby is female.
The current imbalance is higher than figures from a previous Department of Health and Social Care review covering 2017 to 2021. That analysis found an average ratio of 113 boys per 100 girls for third children in the Indian community.
The department estimated that imbalance likely meant around 400 baby girls were aborted during that earlier period.
Campaigners say the latest figures may still not show the full scale of the issue.
A Right to Life spokesman said: “This latest data is deeply concerning. This is likely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sex-selective abortions happening in the UK.
“Because many minority communities in the UK have relatively small numbers of births, even proportionally high numbers of female baby girls having their lives ended by sex-selective abortion would not show up as a statistically significant distortion in the birth ratios for these communities.
“So this data is very likely to underestimate the number of sex-selective abortions in the UK.”
Sex-selective abortion has long been reported in India.
In contrast, ONS data shows no gender imbalance among Bangladeshi or Pakistani mothers in Britain. Birth ratios in those communities are close to the national average.
UK law is clear on the issue.
Department of Health guidance issued to doctors in 2014 states: “Abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal. Gender is not itself a lawful ground under the Abortion Act.”
Fresh concerns have been raised by proposals to decriminalise abortion through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. Critics fear the change could make sex-selective abortions easier.
Conservative peer Baroness Eaton is seeking to amend the Bill to clearly outlaw sex-selective abortion.
The issue caused controversy in December 2025 when the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said that gender-based abortion was not illegal. The charity claimed the law was “silent on the matter”.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman responded:
“This Government’s position is unequivocal: sex-selective abortion is illegal in England and Wales and will not be tolerated.
“Sex is not a lawful ground for termination of pregnancy, and it is a criminal offence for any practitioner to carry out an abortion for that reason alone.
“Anyone with evidence that this illegal practice is occurring must report it to the police immediately.
“We continue to work closely with providers to ensure that abortions are only performed in accordance with the strict legal grounds set out in the Abortion Act.”
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