Scotland – Google panned for giving free ads to UK anti-abortion groups

Nov 30, 2025
By James Walker

GOOGLE has been giving free advertising to anti-abortion groups targeting pregnant women in Scotland and across the UK, the Sunday National can reveal.

Several crisis pregnancy helplines covertly run by anti-abortion groups have been given free ads throughout 2025 via Google Ad Grants – a scheme which gives nonprofits up to £7000 per month of free search advertising.

Continued: https://archive.is/m8xn2
(https://www.thenational.scot/news/25658467.google-panned-giving-free-ads-uk-anti-abortion-groups/)


UK – Police ‘can’t decide’ if anti-abortion campaigner should be charged for silent prayer

Catholic charity worker says someone’s thoughts ‘cannot possibly be a crime’ and her ‘punishment has clearly been the process’

Martin Evans
30 November 2025

Police and prosecutors are “frozen with indecision” over whether to charge a woman for silently praying near an abortion clinic, campaigners have claimed.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Catholic charity worker, is being investigated by West Midlands Police for allegedly breaching a new buffer-zone law intended to prevent people protesting near abortion centres.

Continued: https://archive.is/7NIzF
(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/30/police-no-decide-anti-abortion-campaigner-charged/)


Inside the right-wing push against abortion rights in Scotland

Nov 30, 2025
By James Walker

A RECENT review of Scotland's abortion laws led to widespread right-wing outrage last week. One clip that went particularly viral was a GB News segment featuring Lois McLatchie Miller, who works for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

“The Scottish Government have commissioned a report to suggest that they allow abortion all the way up to birth for most social reasons,” she told the broadcaster’s presenters.

Continued: https://archive.is/lcmwa
(https://www.thenational.scot/news/25659692.inside-right-wing-push-abortion-rights-scotland/)


South Africans support women’s autonomy in marriage and reproduction, including abortion

Most citizens endorse making contraceptives available regardless of people’s age or marital status.

Rehan Visser
28 Nov 2025

… A special question module in Afrobarometer’s Round 10 survey (2025) explores the opinions  and experiences of South Africans related to sexual and reproductive health and rights.  Most citizens think women should have autonomy in making decisions regarding marriage  and reproduction.

Large majorities support making contraceptives available to everyone who is sexually active  regardless of age or marital status. More than eight in 10 agree that girls who become  pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their education, while a similar  proportion support sex education in school. 

Continued: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad1085-south-africans-support-womens-autonomy-in-marriage-and-reproduction-including-abortion/


Women’s empowerment key to tackling Pakistan’s population crisis

November 28, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s population growth rate of 2.55 per cent per year—the highest in the region—is putting immense pressure on the country’s resources, with projections showing a population of 385 million by 2050 if trends continue. Experts say the issue is closely linked to the status of women, whose autonomy and well-being remain severely restricted.

Dr Ali Mohammad Mir, Senior Director of the Population Council, highlighted decades of mismanaged population policies, noting that women bear the brunt of high fertility rates through both childbirth and unpaid childcare responsibilities. “Any effective population strategy must place women’s rights and autonomy at the centre,” he said.

Continued; https://dailytimes.com.pk/1408959/womens-empowerment-key-to-tackling-pakistans-population-crisis/


ZIMBABWE – Uptake of post-abortion care still low despite Government efforts

November 28, 2025 
Tendai Gukutikwa

GOVERNMENT has been applauded for making progress in ensuring that post-abortion care is available at designated health facilities.

However, uptake remains worryingly low, with experts warning that thousands of women continue to suffer complications in silence due to stigma, fear, misinformation and cultural barriers that push them away from lifesaving treatment.

In an interview on the sidelines of a media training, Women’s Action Group programme officer, Ms Vimbai Nyika said the availability of care is an important step in safeguarding women’s health, but misconceptions around abortion and community attitudes are still discouraging women from seeking help.

Continued:  https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/uptake-of-post-abortion-care-still-low-despite-government-efforts/


Abortion Rights in Canada are Under Attack

Forced-birth groups are testing their strategy

Dr. Jen Gunter
Nov 28, 2025

My friends in Canada, and anyone else who cares about human rights and not descending into fascism, The National Post sounded a right-wing dog whistle about abortion, and you need to pay attention. We have lived this in the United States, and trust me when I tell you, this is how it starts.

The cause for alarm? The National Post, a right-wing national rag, ran a piece featuring an undercover forced birther allegedly visiting four clinics, claiming she was 22 weeks pregnant and trying to arrange an abortion. The videos were highly edited and apparently filmed two years ago, when the person who made them claimed to have been pregnant. I make no excuses for not taking the word of someone who shoots clandestine videos about abortion. When someone publicly admits to misleading multiple people, their word is meaningless.

Continued: https://vajenda.substack.com/p/abortion-rights-in-canada-are-under


USA – I Was Forced To Carry A Baby I Knew Would Die — And It Nearly Killed Me, Too

"It was silent in the room when my son was pulled out of me. He couldn’t cry, open his eyes, or move."

By Melissa Schmitt
Nov 27, 2025

On Dec. 18, 2014, in Fargo, North Dakota, I walked drugged and disoriented through a hospital hallway decorated for Christmas. Music played — maybe from a piano, maybe over the PA system. I couldn’t tell. A few hours earlier, my newborn son had passed away less than 30 minutes after I had given birth. Shortly after that, I suffered a severe postpartum hemorrhage and a near-death experience.

Two liters of blood later, there I was, barely alive and walking through a holiday fog, wishing that I wasn’t.

Continued: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/abortion-ban-pateau-syndrome-pregnancy_n_68ed47b5e4b00067de8227a5


King’s research reveals how COVID-19 deepened barriers to abortion care in Poland

Research shows that COVID-19 measures and legal restrictions in Poland compounded barriers to abortion access, revealing how health emergencies intersect with structural inequalities and gendered vulnerabilities.

27 November 2025

A new study led by King’s has uncovered how the COVID-19 pandemic amplified barriers to abortion access in Poland, exposing the intersection of health emergencies with structural inequalities.

The research analysed 8,577 online consultations with Women Help Women, a feminist telehealth provider, between April and December 2020. The findings show that pandemic measures - such as lockdowns and mobility restrictions - combined with financial insecurity and legal restrictions to create unprecedented challenges for those seeking abortion care.

Continued: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/kings-research-reveals-how-covid-19-deepened-barriers-to-abortion-care-in-poland


Australia – Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe claims University of Adelaide gave her immunity from complaints by pro-choice campaigners

The university, which employs Howe as a law professor, states that it ‘considers each matter on its merits’

Tory Shepherd
Thu 27 Nov 2025

A prominent anti-abortion campaigner, who was banned from the South Australian parliament and accused of bullying, claims her employer has granted her immunity from complaints from anyone who is pro-choice.

Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe, who has pledged to make abortion “unthinkable”, says the University of Adelaide, which employs her as a law professor, has agreed that those with ideologically opposed viewpoints to hers will be deemed “vexatious”, and any complaints they make about her will not be acted upon.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/27/anti-abortion-activist-joanna-howes-claims-her-employer-gave-her-immunity-from-complaints-by-pro-choice-campaigners-ntwnfb