Zurich anti-abortion march disrupted by protesters

More than a thousand anti-abortion protesters took part in the 'March for Life' in Zurich-Oerlikon on Saturday. Masked individuals on bicycles disrupted the procession. There was a heavy police presence at the scene.

September 20, 2026

The demonstrators gathered in Zurich-Oerlikon’s market square, which was cordoned off with barriers, under the slogan “Together for Life!”. Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian Nicolas Kolly was among those who addressed the crowd.

This authorised gathering was accompanied by a significant police presence, due to counter-demonstrations announced by far left-wing groups, according to the Keystone-SDA new agency. Two water cannons were deployed. The police carried out checks on several people near the demonstration site.

Around 200 masked counter-demonstrators on bicycles disrupted the start of the march. They blocked the road, overturned rubbish bins onto the carriageway and set off firecrackers. The police repeatedly asked them to leave before resorting to the water cannons. However, the counter-demonstrators reappeared at several points along the route.

Continued; https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/demographics/zurich-anti-abortion-march-disrupted-by-protesters/92088374

20.09.2026

News

March for Life

Nicolas Kolly

pro-choice counter protest

The feminists taking on Germany’s anti-abortion movement

Berlin’s March for Life may be getting smaller, but activists warn it is more politically powerful

By Nandini Naira Archer
September 18, 2026

When anti-abortion actors march through Berlin, the feminists of the What the Fuck?! alliance do not simply stand on the sidelines.

“We’re trying to disrupt the march,” the group told openDemocracy of the annual March for Life, which this year takes place on 19 September. Protesters will line the route, walk alongside marchers and attempt to block their path with deliberately playful and creative demonstrations.

“It’s just no fun [for the anti-abortion actors] to be constantly shouted at by feminists who stick together and have fun while doing it,” What the Fuck?! said. “It doesn’t destroy their power or their networks, but we can at least ruin this one day for them.”

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/the-feminists-taking-on-germanys-anti-abortion-movement/

18.09.2026

Commentary

Aktion Lebensrecht für Alle

Cornelia Kaminski

crisis pregnancy centres

Heartbeat International

March for Life

What the Fuck?! alliance

UK – Abortion rights protest takes on bigots’ ‘March for Life’

Here’s a video of the protest.
Protesters kept up chants of ‘pro-life, that’s a lie, you don’t care if women die’

By Camilla Royle, Socialist Worker
Saturday 05 September 2026

Hundreds of people of all genders and generations protested in London’s parliament square on Saturday against the anti-abortion bigots’ annual “March for Life”.

The Stand Up For Choice protest, called by Abortion Rights UK, was backed by numerous campaign groups and trade unions.

Continued: https://socialistworker.co.uk/womens-liberation/abortion-rights-protest-takes-on-bigots-march-for-life/

India – Tamil Nadu Speaker joins Catholic anti-abortion rally — ‘Life begins at conception’

JCD Prabhakar’s appearance at the National March for Life brings an explicitly Catholic anti-abortion argument into Tamil Nadu’s political arena, where reproductive rights have rarely been organised along religious lines

Arun Janardhanan
Aug 11, 2026

The Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, JCD Prabhakar, joined a Catholic anti-abortion gathering in Chennai Sunday and declared that “life begins at conception”, placing one of the state’s highest constitutional office-holders alongside a movement seeking to persuade Indians to reconsider abortion through the moral theology of the Catholic Church.

Prabhakar, 73, a ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA from Thousand Lights, was addressing the fifth National March for Life, organised at Stella Maris College by CHARIS India under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. More than 5,000 people attended, according to organisers. According to Prabhakar, the gathering was deliberately held around August 10, the date on which India’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was enacted in 1971– a law that established a legal framework for abortion and was significantly liberalised by amendments in 2021.

Continued: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/jcd-prabhakar-tamil-nadu-assembly-speaker-anti-abortion-march-for-life-chennai-10826965/

11.08.2026

News

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India

JCD Prabhakar

Joseph Vijay

March for Life

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act

Tamil Nadu

World Health Organization

Women are dying in Africa as US ramps up its global battle against abortion

Monika Pronczuk And Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press
Jul 18, 2026

KISUMU, Kenya (AP) — For decades, U.S. anti-abortion groups have lobbied domestically and abroad for restricting access to abortion. In the U.S., their biggest success was the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Now, the Trump administration is delivering new momentum to the movement exporting “family values” to nations overseas.

At anti-abortion activists’ annual March for Life demonstration in Washington, Vice President JD Vance announced sweeping new restrictions on U.S. funding for nongovernmental organizations, foreign governments and U.N. agencies that promote access to abortion, gender-affirming care and diversity initiatives overseas.

“We’re going to start blocking every international NGO that performs or promotes abortion abroad from receiving a dollar of U.S. money,” Vance told the crowd in January.

Continued: https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/health/women-are-dying-in-africa-as-us-ramps-up-its-global-battle-against-abortion/article_2bee500d-1033-50c6-a64b-1a73a1f4779c.html

18.07.2026

Commentary

Research

African Christian Professionals Forum

African Population and Health Research Center

Charles Kanjama

Dominic Omollo

E.R. Donnelly

Family Research Council

Family Watch International

Focus on the Family

Hannah Ruguru

Institute for Journalism and Social Change

Marie Stopes International

Promoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Times

Sharon Slater

Thalia Beaty

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Kenya – Politicians and churches mobilise against abortion, but ignore mass death

Kenyan ‘pro-lifers’ celebrate recriminalisation of abortion while staying silent on country’s preventable deaths

By Betty Kabari
April 30, 2026

The right to life in Kenya is often treated as if it begins at conception and ends at birth. As in much of the world, self-described ‘pro-lifers’ claim to defend life at all costs – yet too often stop short of defending the lives already being lived, and those cut short too early.

Last week, a Kenyan Court of Appeal effectively recriminalised abortion by overturning a 2022 High Court ruling that recognised abortion as a constitutional right. The decision comes one month after Kenyan Christian groups held the ‘March for Life 2026’ through the streets of Nairobi.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/politicians-and-churches-mobilise-against-abortion-but-ignore-mass-death/

30.04.2026

Commentary

Betty Kabari

Kenya Court of Appeal

Czech abortion rates hit record lows since Communist era as tensions over rights rise

Abortion rates have dropped sevenfold since 1989, but weekend protests and sharp rhetoric signal a deepening divide over reproductive rights.

Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas, ČTK
14.04.2026

Abortion numbers in Czechia have fallen to historic lows, but increasingly sharp political rhetoric and rival street demonstrations in Prague this weekend proved that growing tensions over reproductive rights remain.

Police and organizers said more than 4,000 people took part in the March for Life on Saturday, which began near Prague Castle and moved through the city center in smaller groups toward Wenceslas Square. Counter-protesters attempted to block parts of the route at several points, prompting repeated police intervention.

Continued: https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/czech-abortions-see-historic-lows-as-political-tensions-heat-up

14.04.2026

News

abortion rates in Czech Republic

Abortion Support Alliance Prague

Thousands protest in Prague for and against abortion

April 11, 2026

Thousands of people have taken part in demonstrations on abortion rights in Prague. The participants in the annual "March for Life" marched through the city center after a service in the Catholic St. Vitus Cathedral. Hundreds of mainly young protesters gathered for a counter-demonstration under the slogan "Prague is feminist". They held up signs with texts such as "Women's rights are human rights" and "My body, my choice".

The police were on site with numerous forces to prevent clashes. Five people were temporarily arrested because they did not follow the officers' instructions, a spokesperson said. According to the CTK agency, the number of abortions in the Czech Republic has been falling for decades and stands at around 15,000 per year. Women can legally have an abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy without having to give a reason. Abortions for medical reasons can be legal up to the 24th week.

Source: https://www.bluewin.ch/en/news/international/thousands-protest-in-prague-for-and-against-abortion-3184934.html

11.04.2026

News

March for Life

pro-choice counter protest

Trump administration to block foreign aid from those promoting abortion, DEI and gender identity

By MATTHEW LEE and ALI SWENSON
January 22, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is expanding its ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups supporting abortion services to include assistance going to international and domestic organizations and agencies that promote gender identity as well as diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

An administration official said Thursday that the State Department would release final rules that expand the scope of the “Mexico City” policy that has already severely reduced assistance to international organizations that provide abortion-related care. The policy was first established under President Ronald Reagan, rescinded by subsequent Democratic administrations and reinstated in Trump’s first term.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/trump-foreign-aid-dei-gender-ideology-afbc10132dae462c368bab91671747eb

Switzerland – Thousands of anti-abortion activists march through Zurich suburb

With crosses, Christian songs and an oversized pram, around two thousand anti-abortion protesters marched through Zurich-Oerlikon on Saturday afternoon. The city police were present with a large contingent.

September 21, 2025

Dozens of police officers in full riot gear flanked the “March for Life” because left-wing extremists on bicycles tried to disrupt the “Pro Life” rally. Firecrackers were set off several times.

The police were able to prevent a clash between the groups. However, dozens tried to stop the demonstration several times, as the city police reported in the evening. They did this by blocking the road or pushing containers onto the road. The police warned the troublemakers and used water cannons and chemical irritants.

Continued; https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/demographics/thousands-of-anti-abortion-activists-march-through-zurich-suburb/90040257

21.09.2025