Anti-abortion groups in the UK are becoming increasingly vocal and making it more difficult for people to access healthcare, doctors and health bodies say.
Besides the notable exception of Northern Ireland, where abortion was only permitted in very restricted circumstances until 2019, the issue is relatively uncontroversial in the UK. believe that women should be able to access abortion services, according to a YouGov poll in 2020.
say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a poll conducted shortly before the US Supreme Court repealed Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that protected the right to abortion. The repeal has been throughout the US.
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Despite low levels of support, anti-abortion groups do exist in the UK. Several continue to make their presence known outside abortion clinics throughout the country and to lobby policy-makers.
In 2019, more than 100,000 people sought abortions at clinics that were targeted by protesters, according to聽.
鈥淭he overall numbers [of anti-abortion activists] are not increasing, but what pro-life groups have been able to do is聽increase mobilisation of the very聽small number of people who聽are against abortion,鈥� says at Aston University in Birmingham, UK, who has studied many of these groups. 鈥淭here鈥檚 certainly been an increase of activities outside clinics over the聽last decade or so.鈥�
Audrey Brown, a gynaecologist in Glasgow, UK, says there was one聽day in late March where about 100 people stood right outside her聽hospital and held up placards with pictures of fetuses on them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the same building that people go to have babies, or who聽have a miscarriage, or have聽a聽stillborn baby,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd for聽people who want an abortion, it visibly affects some of聽my patients.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e certainly had people very shaken and tearful because of聽what they鈥檝e had to pass by,鈥� she聽says. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a right to healthcare if they need it.鈥� Brown says her team has started telling patients to take different entrances into the hospital when they know protesters are going to be outside.
鈥淭he ongoing harassment and聽intimidation of both women and staff outside of clinics is unacceptable, and would not be tolerated for any other healthcare service,鈥� says at the Royal College of Obstetricians and聽Gynaecologists. 鈥淲e have seen anti-abortion movements [in聽the UK] emboldened by the overturning of Roe v Wade, and there has been a rise of anti-choice sentiment across social media.鈥�
It is too early to say if this has聽translated to an increase in聽activity outside UK abortion clinics, says Lord. But Brown says this year has been the worst she has ever experienced for anti-abortion activity. 鈥淚鈥檓 aware of colleagues in other health board areas, such as Aberdeen, that are seeing protests that traditionally did not see activity like it.鈥�
Robert Colquhoun, founder of聽the UK chapter of anti-abortion group 40 Days For Life, is one reason for this increase in activity outside clinics. Colquhoun says he聽first encountered a prayer vigil organised by 40 Days For Life outside an abortion clinic more than a decade ago in Canada, which led him to set up a UK wing.
鈥淲e encourage Christians to聽pray and fast for an end to abortion,鈥� he says. The group conducts 40-day campaigns outside abortion clinics, usually to聽coincide with Lent or Christmas, during which people stand outside abortion clinics and pray.
They also hand out leaflets and聽hold up pictures of aborted fetuses, and they have been accused of harassing people who enter the clinics. 鈥淚 understand it鈥檚聽a very emotional issue鈥� but we鈥檙e not there to harass people,鈥� says Colquhoun. 鈥淲e are there to聽offer help.鈥�
Beyond protesting, anti-abortion activists also lobby policy-makers and organise events.聽Alithea Williams at the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) says the聽group organises a youth conference each year for about 200 people, and that SPUC sometimes goes into schools to聽give talks.
The group also encouraged its聽members to write to their members of parliament to prevent covid-19 laws allowing people to access abortion pills without visiting a clinic being made permanent, though .
While the increase in anti-abortion activity comes at the same time as the overturning of Roe v Wade, the influence of the US anti-abortion movement on activists in the UK is unclear. Williams says the US plays little role in SPUC鈥檚 thinking about abortion. 鈥淲e have quite a different cultural context,鈥� she says.
But Lowe says there are parts of聽the movement currently that are clearly imported from the US. Campaigns organised by 40 Days For Life outside abortion clinics must first go through the US team, which charges a $197 fee to help with organisation and provide campaign resources. The group even offers 鈥渆arly-bird鈥� rates.
This infrastructure for connecting activists helps encourage them to take action, says Lowe. 鈥淔or example, a group聽in Glasgow will find out very quickly that a group in Birmingham has 鈥榮aved a baby鈥欌�� it聽kind of motivates them.鈥�
Legal challenge
The use of litigation in the UK is聽also partly inspired by anti-abortion activists in the US, says Lowe. Last year, SPUC made a , arguing that they were unconstitutional. It was聽 in February.
Legal challenges have also made it costly to maintain or set up buffer zones around abortion clinics. There is no national regulation that prevents protesters from setting up camp close to an abortion clinic, meaning local authorities have to handle them on a case-by-case basis.
Ealing Council used a public space and protection order (PSPO)聽in 2018 that close to its abortion clinic. Local authorities in Richmond and Manchester have followed suit. But PSPOs aren鈥檛 a perfect solution: they need to be renewed every few years and are also subject to legal challenges, which can be costly for councils. 鈥淚t makes policy-makers wary,鈥� says at MSI Reproductive Choices, a charity in聽the UK.
The Royal College of GPs has backed a bill put forward by Gillian Mackay, a member of the Scottish parliament, calling for a that provide abortion services in Scotland. The bill, which is currently in its consultation phase, by the country鈥檚 first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
It is unclear whether a similar law for other UK nations will be passed in the near future. A review by the UK鈥檚 Home Office in 2018 found that a national buffer zone
, Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, who has campaigned for national buffer zones, says something needs to change. 鈥淲omen should not effectively be in an uneven, patchy postcode lottery in order to be able to access harassment-free reproductive healthcare,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is a national problem that requires a national solution.鈥�
