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Judge who ruled that disability abortion up to birth is not discrimination has long history of abortion advocacy

One of the two judges who sat on the disability discrimination abortion case that was rejected by the High Court earlier today, has a long record of representing abortion providers and of ruling against people with disabilities in her judgements.

Earlier today, Heidi Crowter, 26, who has Down’s syndrome and Máire Lea-Wilson, who has a two-year-old son with Down’s syndrome, had their case against the Government dismissed by the High Court.

Justice Nathalie Lieven, one of the judges involved in this decision, has a history of representing abortion providers and making judgements that favour the abortion industry.

Most notably, on Friday 21 June 2019, Justice Lieven ruled that a woman with a learning disability must be forced to have an abortion against her will, against the advice of her social worker and in spite of the fact that the woman’s own mother offered to look after the child.

Just three days later on Monday 24 June 2019, Lord Justice McCombe, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Peter Jackson overturned the ruling after the woman’s mother mounted a legal challenge.

Documents from the Court of Appeal, which ultimately stopped a state-enforced abortion from taking place, revealed that the first stage of a three-day abortion procedure was being carried out during the Court hearing.

In her decision, Justice Lieven said: “I think [the woman] would suffer greater trauma from having a baby removed [from her care]”, Lieven said, because “it would at that stage be a real baby”.

In 2017, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), which has a long-term record of abortion advocacy, Justice Lieven argued that the abortion law in Northern Ireland, which made abortion illegal for disabilities including Down’s syndrome, was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Representing the largest abortion provider in England and Wales, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in 2011,  Justice Lieven argued that women should be able to take the second abortion pill in a medical abortion outside of a clinical setting.

In 2005, she represented the Family Planning Association arguing that the law should not require parental consent or even knowledge for girls under the age of 16 seeking an abortion.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “Sadly, given Justice Lieven’s involvement in this case, the outcome seems almost inevitable. She has consistently shown total disregard and callousness in regard to the lives of unborn babies implying that before they are born, they are not ‘real babies’.”

“Her prior advocacy for disability abortion raises questions about her appropriateness for this legal case.”

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Dear reader,

Despite the Leadbeater assisted-suicide Bill passing its Third Reading on 20 June, it scraped through by just 23 votes (314-291) after enjoying a 55-vote majority at Second Reading. Had 12 more MPs switched sides, the Bill would be dead. It now limps into the Lords with a wafer-thin majority, where peers can amend, delay or reject it outright.

THE CHALLENGE

Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide and will fight hard to stop the Lords overturning the Bill.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion-up-to-birth amendment, passed by MPs in June, also heads to the Lords. If it becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – and at any point up to and during birth.

We will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes), who are expected to push for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws in the Lords.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Thousands of vulnerable lives are now at stake. Battling these two threats is the biggest and most expensive effort in our history, and has drained our limited resources. To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £200,000 by midnight this Sunday (13 July 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from these major threats?

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Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.