Urgent appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.
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Redundancy protections for new mothers receive Government backing

The Government has backed a new law that would protect a woman from redundancy from the point at which she tells her employer she is pregnant up until 18 months after she gives birth.

Under current legislation, employers have an obligation to offer an employee who is on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists if they are making redundancies. Under the new Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination Bill, introduced by Labour MP Dan Jarvis and supported by the Government, these protections will expand to pregnant women as well as new parents returning to work from a relevant form of leave.

The protections against redundancy under the Bill will apply from the point at which a woman tells her employer she is pregnant until 18 months after birth. According to a Government press release: “The 18-month window ensures that a mother returning from a year of maternity leave can receive 6 months additional redundancy protection”.

New mothers will be protected against redundancy

Business Minister Dean Russell said: “Being an expectant or new parent is already a hugely exciting yet anxious time without the added pressure of worrying whether your job is on the line”.

“By extending the UK’s world class workplace protections, today’s reforms will help to remove workplace discrimination and provide improved job security for employees at such an important and precious time in their lives”.

60% said that the cost of childcare influenced their decision to have an abortion

The MP for Barnsley Central who introduced the Bill, Dan Jarvis, said: “I am delighted that my Private Members’ Bill, the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament and is now a step closer to becoming law”.

“At the heart of this Bill are tens of thousands of women pushed out of the workforce each year simply for being pregnant. I’m proud this new legislation will go some way to providing pregnant women and new mums greater protections in the workplace. I want to thank all those who’ve supported the Bill and I look forward to working with them to ensure it passes into law”.

The Bill, and Government support for it, follow a consultation that estimated 54,000 women a year feel they have to leave their jobs due to maternity or pregnancy discrimination.

Six in ten women surveyed who have had an abortion in the UK say that the cost of childcare influenced their decision. The charity ‘Pregnant then screwed’, surveyed 1,630 women who had had an abortion in the last five years. According to the charity, over 60% said that the cost of childcare influenced their decision to have an abortion. In particular, 17.4% said that the cost of childcare was their main reason for having an abortion.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said: “Negative workplace attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood can cause women to feel pressure to have an abortion. No woman should have to face such pressure”.

“This is a positive piece of legislation that could help reduce pressure on working women to have abortions”.

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help 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.

Help build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.