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India launches first annual March for Life in Delhi

India will host its first national March for Life next month.

Abortion has been legal under various circumstances in India since 1971 and this year will mark the first nationally coordinated March for Life. The March is set to take place in the nation’s capital, New Delhi, on 10 August.

In addition to the 2.5km march, which will start at the Jantar Mantar historic landmark, the March will host exhibits and stalls of pro-life organisations from across India.

Sr Paulina Melite, one of the organisers of the March, hopes that the pro-life march will “carry on for years to come until the day the [Medical Termination of Pregnancy] Act is completely revoked just like Roe v. Wade was revoked this year”.

Under the original Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, an abortion is legal up to 20 weeks gestation, but this was increased to 24 weeks by an act of Parliament in 2021.

There are reported to be over 15 million abortions in India every year.

Sex-selective abortion in India

Abortion on the basis of sex (sex-selective abortion) where baby girls are aborted in the womb because they are girls, is a significant issue in parts of India.

A 2018 government report estimated 63 million women were “missing” from the country’s population. This is the result, in large part, of sex-selective abortion.

India has an imbalanced sex ratio with significantly fewer girls being born than boys. The country outlawed sex-selective abortion and prenatal sex detection in 1994 in order to try to prevent a further sex imbalance and the associated ills that often accompany it. 

Census data from 2011 showed there were 914 girls to every 1,000 boys for children up to the age of six, but in some northern states that ratio was as low as 850, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “It is an exciting time for the pro-life movement. As we’re seeing, the end of Roe v Wade presents an opportunity and a cause for hope because it demonstrates to countries like India that such unjust laws can be overturned. Hopefully, the March for Life in India will begin to create more of a pro-life culture, and India, too, can experience its own overturning of its abortion laws”.

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Dear reader,

Thanks to the support from people like you, in 2025, we have grown to 250,000 supporters, reached over 100 million views online, helped bring the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill within just 12 votes of defeat and fought major proposals to introduce abortion up to birth.

However, the challenges we face are far from over.

FIVE MAJOR BATTLES

In 2026, we will be facing five major battles:

  1. Assisted suicide at Westminster – the Leadbeater Bill
    With this session of the UK Parliament at Westminster expected to continue well into 2026, there are many more months of this battle to fight. There is growing momentum in the House of Lords against the dangerous Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill, but well-funded groups such as Dignity in Dying have poured millions into lobbying, and we must sustain the pressure so this Bill never becomes law.
  2. Assisted suicide in Scotland – the McArthur Bill
    We are expecting to face the final Stage 3 vote on the Scottish McArthur assisted suicide Bill early in the new year. If just seven MSPs switch from voting for to against the Bill, it will be defeated. This is a battle that can be won, but the assisted suicide lobby is working intensely to stop that from happening.
  3. Assisted suicide in Wales – the Senedd vote
    In January, we are expecting the Welsh Senedd to vote on whether they will allow the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill to be rolled out in Wales. Dignity in Dying and their allies are already putting a big focus on winning this vote. This is going to be another decisive and major battle.
  4. Abortion up to birth at Westminster
    We are going to face major battles over the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment as it moves through the House of Lords. Baroness Monckton has tabled an amendment to overturn this change, and other Peers have proposed changes that would protect more babies from having their lives ended in late-term home abortions.
  5. Abortion up to birth in Scotland
    In Scotland, moves are underway to attempt to introduce an even more extreme abortion law there. An “expert group” undertaking a review of abortion law in Scotland has recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds right up to birth. It is expected that the Scottish Government will bring forward final proposals as a Government Bill next year.

If these major threats from our opposition are successful, it would be a disaster. Thousands of lives would be lost.

WE CAN ONLY DEFEAT THESE FIVE MAJOR THREATS WITH YOUR HELP

Work fighting both the abortion and assisted suicide lobbies in 2025 has substantially drained our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we effectively fight these battles in the year ahead, our goal is to raise at least £198,750 by midnight this Sunday, 7 December 2025.

With a number of these battles due to begin within weeks, we need funds in place now so we can move immediately.

£198,750 is the minimum we need; anything extra lets us do even more.

If you are able, please give as generously as you can today. Every donation, large or small, will make a real difference. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 you donate at no extra cost to you.

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

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Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to help fight the five major battles we will face in 2026.

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to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to help fight the five major battles we will face in 2026.