Photos from the March For Life UK can be viewed on Facebook here or if you are not on Facebook, they can be viewed here.
An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 pro-lifers attended the 10th annual March for Life in central London in the largest March to date and dwarfing a pro-abortion counter-demonstration.
Held last Saturday, 7 September, pro-lifers of all ages marched in opposition to the UK’s abortion laws, which permit abortion up until 24 weeks gestation and up to birth in cases of disability. Pro-lifers filled the streets as they marched to Trafalgar Square, ending with a huge rally in Parliament Square.
Since the Abortion Act was passed in 1967, there have been over 10 million abortions in England, Wales and Scotland, with over a quarter of a million abortions in England and Wales in 2022 alone, the highest on record.
“I was in denial of the basic science that clearly demonstrates that human life begins at conception”
As attendees arrived at the morning events held before the March, a number of them were greeted with a barrage of abuse and insults by a small group of masked pro-abortion counter-protesters.
Lois McLatchie-Miller posted on social media “Note the black masks over the face. Very different vibe to the joyful, colourful, celebration of life taking place inside the Emmanuel Centre, where we’re campaigning for BETTER than abortion for women & babies”.
Once inside the venue though, attendees were able to participate in the ‘Pro-Life Health Summit’ and heard from ex-abortion workers including Dr Haywood Robinson, who had previously performed abortions, ex MSI Reproductive Choice (formerly Marie Stopes International) director Kevin Duffy and Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor, who previously assisted in abortions.
In addition to the Summit, pro-life organisations from across the UK, including Right To Life UK, were able to showcase their life-saving work throughout the morning.
The March culminated in a huge rally in Parliament square as thousands of pro-lifers dwarfed the small number of pro-abortion protesters. Speaking on the stage at the rally, Dr Robinson said “I was seduced into accepting the vain notion that I, as a physician, could take the life of an innocent human being. I was in denial of the basic science that clearly demonstrates that human life begins at conception”.
Claire Culwell, who survived an abortion when her twin did not, told the crowd “Today you get to see the face, know the name and hear the experience of the aborted baby. When people talk about women’s rights they’re forgetting something very important … I was not my birth mother’s body, I was a separate human being”.
Co-director of the March for Life, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who just weeks ago received a £13,000 payout and apology from the police after she was arrested twice for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, said “We’re marching because women, and their babies, deserve far better than abortion”.
“The abortion industry hides behind a charade of false compassion and misinformation. Moreover, unborn children are not a disease to get rid of, but are humans, who should be treated with respect and equality. We need societal solutions that support both lives in every pregnancy”.
Addressing the crowd, Isabel said “We have a fundamental human right that’s afforded to every single person in this country – from the frailest pensioner to the busy career man or woman, every mum or dad, teenager or child, every immigrant, legal or illegal, and even to each criminal in our prisons – but not to the most vulnerable and innocent of all, the pre-born child. They are denied the most basic right: the right to life itself”.
Over 100,000 repeat abortions in 2022
The March for Life 2024 took place just months after the abortion statistics for England and Wales revealed there were 102,689 repeat abortions in England and Wales for residents in 2022 accounting for 40.85% of all abortions for residents in that year.
According to the 2022 annual abortion statistics for England and Wales released earlier this year, repeat abortions in 2022, in which the woman undergoing the abortion had had one or more previous abortions, increased by 11,376 or 12.46% compared with the previous year.
Of those having repeat abortions in 2022, 20,947 had had two previous abortions, 5,214 had had 3 previous abortions and 109 women had had eight or more previous abortions, including two under the age of 18.
The data also reveals that there were 1,512 repeat abortions for women residents aged under 19.
The true number of repeat abortions that took place in England and Wales may be higher, as the data only records this information for residents of England and Wales, meaning non-residents who have a repeat abortion are not recorded.
The Integrated Care Board for NHS Mid and South Essex in the region of Thurrock reports the highest repeat abortion rate in the country with over half of all abortions in the region being repeat abortions.
This increase in repeat abortions has accompanied a 17.34% increase in the total number of abortions, resulting in a record 252,122 abortions in England and Wales in 2022. This is the largest increase in the total number of abortions since 1972.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “It’s so encouraging to see thousands of pro-lifers take to the street of London for the March for Life. We must never forget the lives lost and do all we can to support mothers and babies to prevent further loss of life”.
“It was fantastic to see thousands of passionate pro-lifers, a large number of whom are young people, marching through the streets of London today”.
“The people who joined the March were making a much-needed public demonstration of their opposition to introducing even more inhumane abortion laws to the UK, and in support of the dignity and rights of every human being from conception to natural death”.
