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“Pillar of the pro-life movement” Nuala Scarisbrick dies aged 82

Life Charity co-founder Nuala Ann Scarisbrick has died peacefully at home with her husband Jack and their two daughters Emma and Sarah by her side on Tuesday 31 August.

Nuala was the driving force behind the building of the client support services Life operates today – especially her “hotline” which evolved into their National Helpline. 

Nuala was born in January 1939 and began her career in teaching. In 1965 she married distinguished historian Professor John Joseph “Jack” Scarisbrick.

Nuala and Jack co-founded Life in 1970, and the duo spearheaded the charity’s work until they stepped down in 2017. 

While Jack became the figurehead of the new charity, Nuala did the day-to-day running of the charity. For three decades, she took a full-time but unpaid position as National Administrator.

Jack described her as Life Charity’s “chief animator.” Speaking of her influence, he said:“[Nuala] ran Life … And [she] was amazing! Travelling all over the place, all over Europe, and addressing numerous meetings and founding the National Helpline. She was a leading figure on it for many years. Really without her, it would never have taken off as it did”.

Nuala was a woman of incredible energy and drive, and contributed to all areas of Life Charity’s work, from fundraising to hosting supporters to attending meetings to starting Life Charity’s national helpline, its education programme, operations, and the charity’s public relations. All while herself and Jack supported pregnant girls by taking them into their home.

Nuala and Jack lived in Leamington Spa. They have two daughters, eight grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren with a tenth due imminently.

Chris Whitehouse KCSG, a trustee of Right To Life UK, said: “Nuala was a pillar of the pro-life movement and an incredible woman. She will be sorely missed. Yet, the legacy that outlives her and her determination will surely be a model for the next generation”. 

“The pro-life movement would not be where it is today without Nuala’s courage and tireless dedication. Nuala’s passion for supporting women and families in crisis has saved lives – these are literally thousands of people throughout the UK who are alive today because of her pioneering work.”

“If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences of Nuala, please do so on the Book of Condolence available on Life Charity’s website”.

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Help stop three major anti-life threats.

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 began on 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?

EMERGENCY
APPEAL
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lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help stop three major anti-life threats.