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Premature Scottish baby born four months early, so tiny she could fit in her mum’s hand

A baby born four months early and weighing only 1lb 6oz has been saved thanks to the work of the Jennifer Brown Research Lab.

Lili Armstrong was born four months early in Edinburgh in January 2021 to parents Delyth Hughes and Marc Armstrong. She was so fragile her parents were unable to even hold her.

Delyth, from Edinburgh, said: “At times we were living hour by hour and were told the doctors had done all they could and it was up to Lili whether she made it”.

“It was a rollercoaster as we willed her to keep fighting and she did”.

She was so tiny she could fit in her mum’s hand

Thanks to the work of the Jennifer Brown Research Lab, who had helped to discover the right oxygen levels for incubators, Lili was able to improve rapidly.

Dad Marc, a solicitor, said: “They told us she would probably need oxygen for a year but she was off it after three months. Lili is flying. She is a healthy and joyful baby and is meeting her development milestones”.

The former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah started the research centre after the death of their baby daughter Jennifer over 20 years ago. The work of the research centre helped to ensure that Lili is alive today.

It is more and more common for babies to be born before the 24-week abortion limit and survive.

Earlier this 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, showed parliamentarians evidence from the UK and across the world “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]”.

Scotland has witnessed the birth and survival of other extremely premature babies such as baby Sofia who was born at 22 weeks weighing only 500g in October 2020.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said: “Babies born before the abortion limit are a persistent challenge to supporters of abortion. There is no good argument for abortion, but as babies are born earlier, the true barbarity of the practice becomes easier for all to see”.

EMERGENCY
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Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to 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
to SAVE
lives

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.