Only hours left of the appeal to help build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.
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John Lewis will give time off for pregnancy loss at any stage

John Lewis & Partners (JLP) has become the latest UK business to offer paid leave to employees dealing with pregnancy loss. It has also announced that it will equalise the time off given to both new mothers and fathers – it will be the first UK retailer to do so.

JLP Chair, Dame Sharon White, said: “As an employee-owned business, equality matters to us. We want John Lewis and Waitrose to be a place for everyone and for people from all walks of life to feel valued so they can thrive in our business”.

She went on: “We want to be there for our partners to support them in important life moments, whether that’s stepping into the world of work for the first time, or becoming a parent”.

The policies will begin from Autumn 2021 and will entitle employees to 26 weeks of paid leave, with 14 at full pay and 12 at half pay for staff who have worked within the Partnership for at least one year.

Those who experience pregnancy loss will also be entitled to take two weeks of paid leave under the new policies. This decision follows similar moves from companies such as Channel 4, Monzo, and Abel & Cole in recent months. UK law currently only entitles prospective parents to time off if the baby is lost after the 24-week mark.

Jacqui Clinton, who directs the pregnancy charity “Tommy’s” corporate Pregnancy and Parenting at Work service, said: “Baby loss at any stage in pregnancy is one of the most heart-breaking things any family can experience – and one that’s endured all too frequently, but often quietly, because of persistent stigma in society”.

“It’s fantastic to see companies acknowledging this impact and tackling this taboo by creating dedicated leave policies; this will help anyone who’s struggling to reach out, and to feel confident and supported in doing so”.

MP Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee also praised the decision, saying that, “The pandemic has been particularly hard for families juggling all sorts of different demands and pressures and I am pleased but not surprised the John Lewis Partnership has risen to the challenge to help both existing and future employees”.

A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said: “It is wonderful that JLP and many other UK companies are beginning to acknowledge the extent of emotional and physical suffering the loss of a baby can ensue at any stage of pregnancy. It is time the law itself caught up with this reality and permitted paid leave for anyone who has lost a baby. However, decisions such as these also continue to highlight the cruelty and inconsistency of abortion law by bringing into focus the fact that babies lost before 24 weeks are still babies and that loss at any stage of pregnancy is a tragedy.”.

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, after a two-year battle, MPs voted by 286 to 270 to reject the Edwards assisted suicide Bill.

This followed the defeat of the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland by 69 to 57 in March this year.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people over the coming decades.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

A prominent pollster described the campaign against these major attempts to introduce assisted suicide, which brought together people from all walks of life across the UK, as one of the “most successful 21st Century UK social issue campaigns”. You helped make that possible.

WHY WE MUST NOT STOP HERE

What we have achieved together is extraordinary. But we must not rest on our laurels.

Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made clear that it will keep campaigning to legalise assisted suicide. 

We cannot wait until another Bill is brought forward. We need to keep pressing for better care and strengthen the case against legalisation now.

WHAT COMES NEXT

The next phase of our Support Not Suicide campaign will operate across Parliament, media, online and in grassroots communities in every constituency across the United Kingdom.

Our focus now is to build on that momentum from the defeat of these assisted suicide Bills and make these victories last.

We want to build a United Kingdom where assisted suicide is seen as unnecessary – and where legalising it is seen as unthinkable.

The first part of that work is a sustained push for universal access to high-quality palliative, hospice and social care. No one should feel driven towards assisted suicide because they cannot get the care and support they need. 

We have already asked supporters to contact their MPs about improving care. With your help, we will keep that pressure on in every constituency, brief MPs and Peers on gaps in care, and make the case for better provision in the media.

The second part is building on these wins to ensure more MPs and more of the wider public understand the dangers of legalising assisted suicide. We will put evidence of those risks before MPs and Peers. We will work with mainstream journalists to bring the voices of people directly affected, doctors and other experts into the national conversation, and produce clear videos and articles that supporters can share online and in their communities.

Our network of 250,000 supporters covers every constituency in the UK. Thanks to people like you sharing our content, our posts and videos have been viewed more than 100 million times online in the last year. 

We want to utilise that massive reach for this next phase of the campaign.

WE CAN ONLY DO THIS WITH YOUR HELP

The two-year fight to stop these Bills drew heavily on our limited resources.

To replenish those resources and fund the next phase of the Support Not Suicide campaign, we aim to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (4 October 2026).

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

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in protecting vulnerable lives. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

Will you donate now to help make these victories last and protect vulnerable lives?

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.