Anti-abortion groups have received funds from the UK government and National Lottery

The Big Issue has been investigating crisis pregnancy centres in the UK, which have been known to misinform women around abortion. Taxpayer money has gone towards funding some of them

Isabella McRae
15 Oct 2025

Crisis pregnancy centres in the UK, some of which are known to have an anti-abortion agenda, have received funding from the government and National Lottery to continue their work.

Many crisis pregnancy centres are registered charities and some have received financial support from the National Lottery Community Fund and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, as recently revealed by Amnesty International UK.

Continued: https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/crisis-pregnancy-centres-anti-abortion-funding/

15.10.2025

Commentary

Amnesty International UK

Chiara Capraro

crisis pregnancy centres

National Lottery Community Fund

Pregnancy Centres Network

Europe

United Kingdom

Anti-choice

UK – What is the truth about crisis pregnancy centres? The anti-abortion facilities creeping across Britain

Many faith-based crisis pregnancy centres are believed to offer an 'ethical' service, but there are some which have been found to be 'misleading' women. It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell which as centres may 'hide their ideological aims'

Isabella McRae
14 Oct 2025

Crisis pregnancy centres, which have been known to “misinform” women around abortion, have become increasingly “professionalised” in the UK and are often unregulated, experts have warned.

These centres are commonly run by Christian groups and promise to offer “impartial” and “ethical” advice for free, but some have been found to be promoting “medically inaccurate” information with an anti-abortion agenda which risks leaving women “traumatised”.

Continued: https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/abortion-uk-crisis-pregnancy-centres/

UK – Abortion is close to decriminalisation. But how quickly can rights and progress be rolled back?

More than 100 women are believed to have been arrested on suspicion of illegal abortion over the last five years in England and Wales, but a new law will offer greater protections. The Big Issue asks experts if rights could still be under threat

Isabella McRae
13 Oct 2025

Women have been prosecuted for having an abortion for centuries. Even in recent years, in this country, women suspected of an illegal abortion have been arrested straight from the hospital ward, their homes searched and their children taken away. But a new law set to be passed in England and Wales means that abortion is a step closer to decriminalisation.

Abortion was legalised in 1967, meaning women can have an abortion up to 23 weeks and six days of a pregnancy, provided two doctors agree it meets certain criteria. The laws which are currently used to prosecute women in England were created in the Victorian era.

Continued: https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/abortion-decriminalisation-womens-rights-uk/

UK – US Christian conservative groups escalate support for UK anti-abortion protesters

Phoebe Davis

Saturday 16 August 2025

Network of well-funded bodies backs cases in UK after JD Vance’s challenge on buffer zones outside abortion clinics

The Trump administration has warned the UK that “buffer zones” that criminalise protest outside abortion clinics represent an “egregious violation” of free speech and threaten the “shared values that underpin US-UK relations”.

The US escalation in intervening in the prosecution of British anti-abortion protesters comes after the White House took the highly unusual step of criticising the UK for a “worsening” human rights situation, citing “safe access zones” around clinics as an area of concern.

Continued: https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/us-christian-conservative-groups-escalate-support-for-uk-anti-abortion-protesters

A powerful and coordinated movement against human rights is growing in the UK

July 9, 2025
Amnesty International UK

A powerful anti-rights movement is growing in the UK, threatening to roll back our hard-won freedoms and rewrite the rules on whose rights, bodies and lives deserve protection.

Our groundbreaking analysis has uncovered a rapidly expanding network of organisations working to undermine human rights protections, targeting reproductive freedoms, LGBTI rights and promoting dangerous practices such as so-called "conversion therapy".

This threat is real, organised and growing. But we see their game, and we won’t stand for it.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/anti-rights

US anti‑abortion cash floods UK free speech frontlines

Democracy for Sale investigation finds US anti‑abortion lawyer funding Toby Young’s Free Speech Union, while Alliance Defending Freedom’s UK spending soars.

May 31, 2025
By Peter Geoghegan and Max Colbert

Nigel Farage has often described himself as ‘pro-choice’ - but this week the Reform leader declared that plans to decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks are “utterly ludicrous”.

Farage’s comments were striking. Not least as the abortion proposals have been backed by a cross-party group of MPs. But the Reform leader is not the only figure on the political right who seems to have a growing interest in Britain’s abortion laws.

Continued: https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/us-antiabortion-cash-floods-uk-free-speech-union-adf

UK under international pressure over deletion of abortion commitments

Exclusive: open letter sent to Liz Truss after removal of commitment to repeal laws threatening women and girls’ rights from global pact

Lizzy Davies
Fri 22 Jul 2022

The UK government is coming under growing pressure from European countries and human rights groups to explain why commitments to abortion and sexual health rights have been removed from an official statement on gender equality.

Norway and Denmark have approached the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) “to protest against the substantive changes” that were made to a paper that resulted from a UK-hosted conference on freedom of religion and belief, opened by Liz Truss earlier this month, the Guardian has learned.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jul/22/european-countries-pressurise-uk-over-removal-of-abortion-commitments-liz-truss

Ireland’s first report on abortion shows huge progress, but some women still forced to travel

Amnesty International
30th June 2020

In response to the publication today of the 2019 Annual report on abortion statistics by the outgoing Minister for Health, Amnesty welcomes the progress made for the 6,666 pregnant people who were able to access free, safe and legal abortion care in this country.

“Last year, 6,666 women and girls were able to receive abortion care within our own health system. To go from a country that exiled women seeking abortions two years ago, to one that is caring for them at home is such an important step forward. There are some wide variations in the numbers across counties, though. The new government must ensure abortion services are available and accessible to all pregnant people in the state,” said Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.ie/irelands-first-report-on-abortion-shows-huge-progress-but-some-women-still-forced-to-travel/

30.06.2020

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Amnesty International Ireland

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Grainne Teggart

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UK – Ministers approve home use of both stages of abortion pill due to Covid-19

Ministers approve home use of both stages of abortion pill due to Covid-19

23 March, 2020
By Steve Ford

The government has given temporary approval of the home as a class of place where both abortion pills can be taken for early medical abortion, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It has also approved the home of a registered doctor as a class of place where both abortion pills – mifepristone and misoprostol – can be prescribed for the treatment of early medical abortion.

Continued: https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/policies-and-guidance/ministers-approve-home-use-of-both-stages-of-abortion-pill-due-to-covid-19-23-03-2020/

23.03.2020

Amnesty International UK

coronavirus

Covid-19 and abortion

Department of Health and Social Care

Polish police raid offices of feminist activists after abortion protests

Polish police raid offices of feminist activists after abortion protests

'They are afraid of women's protest and want to find out all possible methods to devalue the Polish women's solidarity grassroot solidarity movement,' says leading campaigner

Maya Oppenheim
Oct 7, 2017

Women’s rights groups in Poland have had their documents and computers seized in police raids which took place a day after thousands of activists marched against the country’s restrictive abortion law.

The Women’s Rights Centre, which works on a range of women's issues, and Baba, which helps domestic violence victims, had their offices in the cities of Warsaw, Lodz, Gdansk, and Zielona Gora invaded by police.

Continued at source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/poland-abortion-police-raids-a7987181.html