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Girl born 12 weeks early gets ready for first day at school

Polly Richardson survived a bleed on the brain and was resuscitated three times after being born 12 weeks early, weighing just 2lb 5oz. The little girl from Stockton is now four years old and excitedly getting ready for her first day at school. 

Touch and go when mum goes into labour at 28 weeks

At 28 weeks pregnant, Samantha Richardson became unwell with an infection and her waters broke. When Polly arrived 12 weeks before her due date, her parents, Samantha and Phil, endured several days of expecting the worst. In her first few days, Polly stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. 

Mum, Samantha, was scared about what it could mean for Polly and the family. She said “I was reading up on everything, I was thinking about what the future would mean and how we would have to adapt our lives and the impact it would have on the whole family”.

‘Pocket rocket’ Polly defies expectations

Amazingly, Polly defied expectations. She left hospital when she weighed 5lb and did not need oxygen any more. As a nurse, Samantha had been expecting serious complications for Polly, knowing that it is common for premature babies to face medical difficulties.

Despite having several children already, Samantha recalls “I felt like a first time new mam again, like I didn’t know what I was doing, especially in the neo-natal ward”. 

Her mum affectionately calls Polly her “pocket rocket” and has marvelled at how her little girl has met all of her physical developmental milestones. Polly is now looking forward to starting school in September. 

The prospects for premature babies are improving all the time

The prospects for premature babies are constantly improving. Last year, John Wyatt, Professor of Ethics and Perinatology at University College London and also Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at University College London, presented evidence to parliamentarians from the UK showing “that there has been a steady improvement in the chances of survival of babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation since the Abortion Act was last amended [in 1990]”.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “Good luck to Polly on her first day at school! It’s wonderful to see how medical advances are supporting babies born prematurely to thrive as they grow up”. 

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Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland was defeated in March by 69 votes to 57.

Then, in April, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill fell in the House of Lords.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, governments in England, Scotland and Wales would now be preparing to roll out assisted suicide services.

Over the coming decades, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people.

But that is not what happened.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

These were two very significant victories. But sadly, they are not the last battles we face this year.

The new Parliamentary session began on Wednesday. We now face three major threats.

  1. Attempts to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill and bypass the House of Lords

    The assisted suicide lobby, led by Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made it clear that it is going to attempt to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the next parliamentary session.

    It then plans to use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords and force the Bill into law.

  2. Labour Government plans for a major expansion of abortion provision, including financial incentives for ‘lunch-hour’ abortions

    Under these plans, the Government would financially incentivise major abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices, to provide ‘lunch-hour’ or ‘same-day’ abortions.

    ‘Lunch-hour’ abortion services are walk-in abortion services designed to fit into a woman’s lunch hour.

    Women facing an unplanned pregnancy need time, care and support, not a system that gives abortion clinics a financial incentive to rush them through consultations, scans and abortions on the same day.

    If these plans go ahead, many more lives are likely to be ended by abortion here in the UK.

  3. Extreme abortion up to birth proposals in Scotland

    In Scotland, plans are moving forward to introduce an extreme abortion up to birth law. This would go far beyond the abortion law change recently backed by the Lords for England and Wales.

    A review of abortion law in Scotland, commissioned by Humza Yousaf when he was Scottish First Minister, recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds, including for sex-selective purposes, right up to birth.

    The final plans are expected to be brought forward as a Government Bill in the new Scottish Parliament, which begins this Thursday.

If these three major threats succeed, thousands of vulnerable lives will be lost.

We cannot allow this to happen.

We can only defeat these three major threats with your help.

We ran our biggest campaigns ever to help defeat the assisted suicide Bills at Westminster and in Scotland.

That work has made a serious dent in our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we can effectively defeat these three major threats in the coming months, we are aiming to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (17 May 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in saving the lives of the unborn and many others. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

By stopping these threats, YOU can save lives during this new Parliamentary session.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these three major threats?

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Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help stop three major anti-life threats.