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UK judge orders mother to have abortion against her will

A court has ordered that a mother with a learning disability who is 22 weeks pregnant must have an abortion. The woman is understood to be in her 20s and has been diagnosed with having a moderately severe learning disability.

The woman’s doctors claim that an abortion is in her best interests, despite the fact that the woman herself wants the child. Her social worker disagreed with the doctors and the woman’s legal team has said there was “no proper evidence” for their claim.

The pregnant woman’s own mother has offered to care for her grandchild when he/she is born and argued that her daughter’s doctors have “underestimated her ability and understanding…”

Mrs Justice Lieven, said that she believed it would be too difficult from the grandmother to look after both the daughter and the grandchild.

The Judge said it was an “enormous” decision and that she was “acutely conscious of the fact that for the State to order a woman to have a termination where it appears that she doesn’t want it is an immense intrusion”.

After making this concession, she proceded to order that this woman have an abortion against her will.

“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.”

Lieven clarified that the pregnancy “although real to [the woman], doesn’t have a baby outside her body she can touch.”

Lieven’s claim that her decision is in the best interest of the woman and “I have to operate in [her] best interests, not on society’s views of termination,” is extremely disingenuous.

In 2011, the judge represented the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Britain’s largest abortion provider, and in 2016 she argued in court that Northern Ireland’s abortion laws were a violation of the United Kingdom’s Human Rights Act. In 2017, she said that Northern Ireland’s abortion laws were akin to torture and were discriminatory.

Right To Life UK have launched a petition to the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, urging him to intervene in the case.

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Dear reader,

Thanks to the support from people like you, in 2025, we have grown to 250,000 supporters, reached over 100 million views online, helped bring the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill within just 12 votes of defeat and fought major proposals to introduce abortion up to birth.

However, the challenges we face are far from over.

FIVE MAJOR BATTLES

In 2026, we will be facing five major battles:

  1. Assisted suicide at Westminster – the Leadbeater Bill
    With this session of the UK Parliament at Westminster expected to continue well into 2026, there are many more months of this battle to fight. There is growing momentum in the House of Lords against the dangerous Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill, but well-funded groups such as Dignity in Dying have poured millions into lobbying, and we must sustain the pressure so this Bill never becomes law.
  2. Assisted suicide in Scotland – the McArthur Bill
    We are expecting to face the final Stage 3 vote on the Scottish McArthur assisted suicide Bill early in the new year. If just seven MSPs switch from voting for to against the Bill, it will be defeated. This is a battle that can be won, but the assisted suicide lobby is working intensely to stop that from happening.
  3. Assisted suicide in Wales – the Senedd vote
    In January, we are expecting the Welsh Senedd to vote on whether they will allow the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill to be rolled out in Wales. Dignity in Dying and their allies are already putting a big focus on winning this vote. This is going to be another decisive and major battle.
  4. Abortion up to birth at Westminster
    We are going to face major battles over the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment as it moves through the House of Lords. Baroness Monckton has tabled an amendment to overturn this change, and other Peers have proposed changes that would protect more babies from having their lives ended in late-term home abortions.
  5. Abortion up to birth in Scotland
    In Scotland, moves are underway to attempt to introduce an even more extreme abortion law there. An “expert group” undertaking a review of abortion law in Scotland has recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds right up to birth. It is expected that the Scottish Government will bring forward final proposals as a Government Bill next year.

If these major threats from our opposition are successful, it would be a disaster. Thousands of lives would be lost.

WE CAN ONLY DEFEAT THESE FIVE MAJOR THREATS WITH YOUR HELP

Work fighting both the abortion and assisted suicide lobbies in 2025 has substantially drained our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we effectively fight these battles in the year ahead, our goal is to raise at least £198,750 by midnight this Sunday, 7 December 2025.

With a number of these battles due to begin within weeks, we need funds in place now so we can move immediately.

£198,750 is the minimum we need; anything extra lets us do even more.

If you are able, please give as generously as you can today. Every donation, large or small, will make a real difference. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 you donate at no extra cost to you.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these five major threats?

URGENT
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to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight the five major battles we will face in 2026.