Hundreds of pro-life campaigners have gathered in central London for the annual March for Life.
The event, entitled "Abortion isn't healthcare" is in support of the right to life of unborn children and for better services to help women avoid abortion.
Abortion statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care in May 2024 show the highest number of abortions ever recorded in England and Wales, with 252,122 taking place in 2022, an increase of almost 20 per cent from 2021.
One in three women in the UK will have an abortion in their lifetime.
This morning, some counter-protestors gathered outside the Emmanuel Centre where former abortion doctors, current medical doctors and abortion survivors were meeting for a healthcare summit ahead of the march.
Lois McLatchie-Miller, spokesperson for ADF UK (Alliance Defending Freedom UK), who was chairing the summit, posted on social media:
“Note the black masks over the face. Very different vibe to the joyful, colourful, celebration of life taking place inside the Emmanuel Centre, where we’re campaigning for BETTER than abortion for women & babies.”
The March for Life takes place only months after attempts to decriminalise abortion for any reason, up to birth, were thwarted in the UK parliament due to an election being called before the completion of the Conservative government’s Crime and Sentencing Bill.
However, pro-life campaigners remain concerned about attempts to decriminalise abortion up to birth in the near future.
Lois McLatchie Miller said:
“Only one per cent of Brits actually support abortion for any reason, all the way up to birth. But if certain MPs had had their way during the previous parliamentary term, this would be the case in Britain today. Decriminalising abortion would have removed safeguards which prevent women from self-performing dangerous, late-term abortions on viable, sentient babies.
“Those MPs are all the more likely to gain support for their efforts under the newly-elected government, meaning women across the country – and their babies – are at risk. Something is going very wrong with our country if one in three women feel abortion is their best option.
“This is why young women like me are turning out to March for Life. We want support to be empowered mothers – not abandonment to abortion. And we want protection for babies in the womb. In every pregnancy, both lives matter.”
The March for Life is co-organised by Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the crisis pregnancy volunteer who recently won a £13,000 payout from West Midlands Police after they unlawfully arrested her for praying silently, in her mind, near an abortion facility.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce said:
“We’re marching because women, and their babies, deserve far better than abortion.
“It’s clear that abortion is not healthcare: in fact, studies have shown that as many as 1 in 17 women using mail-ordered abortion pills end up in hospital with complications.
“The abortion industry hides behind a charade of false compassion and misinformation. Moreover, unborn children are not a disease to get rid of, but are humans, who should be treated with respect and equality. We need societal solutions that support both lives in every pregnancy.”
Dr. Haywood Robinson, a former abortion doctor who now campaigns to protect and support both lives in a pregnancy is among those addressing the March, along with medical doctor and abortion researcher, Dr. Calum Miller. He said:
“We are marching for life, not only because of the millions of babies killed by abortion, but also because of the millions of women hurt by it. The evidence suggests that abortion causes an increased risk of anxiety, suicide, drug abuse and alcohol abuse, and women deserve to be protected from these outcomes triggered by the loss of their child.”