Abortion is becoming a new front in Reform UK’s culture war

Following abortion decriminalisation, analysis from openDemocracy and the Fuller Project reveals the UK far right is pushing anti-abortion talking points into mainstream political debate.

By Sian Norris
May 20, 2026

Data analysed by The Fuller Project and openDemocracy reveal that British far-right political parties and influencers – including Reform UK – are taking inspiration from the United States and seeking to turn abortion into a new front in the culture wars.

At a time when Nigel Farage’s party has made sweeping gains in the local elections, our analysis of almost 80 Reform, Reform-supporting, and far-right X accounts found that between April 2024 and April 2026, mentions of abortion increased by 40% compared to the previous two years. This is despite a new law coming into force at the end of April 2026 which prevents women in England and Wales from facing a criminal investigation for having an abortion, and despite high public support for abortion across the UK.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/aabortion-reform-uk-politics-birth-decriminalization-farage/

Inside the fight to decriminalise abortion in the UK

More than 50 MPs have backed an amendment to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales. But does it offer real change, and why is it being championed by those with anti-trans sentiments?

Halima Jibril
May 19, 2025

Last Wednesday (May 14), more than 50 cross-party MPs backed an amendment proposing to “decriminalise” abortion in England and Wales. Put forward by Welsh Labour Party MP, Tonia Antoniazzi, the amendment seeks to remove “women from criminal law related to abortion” and would mean “no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy”. MPs were set to vote on the amendment last summer, but parliament dissolved ahead of the 2024 general election.

The landscape of abortion in the UK is more complex than one might think. Abortion is technically “legal” in England, Scotland and Wales, and yet it is also a criminal offence. Below is an explainer on the 164-year-old law that makes abortion a criminal offence, what the amendment is fighting to change (and keep the same) and if activists and campaigners believe the amendment goes far enough in protecting people’s right to an abortion in the UK.

Continued: https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/66834/1/inside-the-fight-to-decriminalise-abortion-in-the-uk-england-wales

UK – Women seeking abortions after using ‘natural’ contraception

Jan 13, 2025
Michelle Roberts, Digital health editor, BBC News

There has been a rise in the proportion of women seeking abortions despite using "natural" methods to prevent pregnancy, like fertility tracking apps, a study in England and Wales suggests.

The data, published in BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health, shows a "shift" in contraception use in the last five years, from "more reliable" hormonal contraceptives such as the pill, to "fertility awareness-based methods", say researchers.

Hormonal methods, including the mini pill, fell from 19% in 2018 to 11% in 2023 among tens of thousands of women.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c391nlxrv4vo

13.01.2025

News

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

Dr Rosie McNee

fertility tracking apps

Lisa Hallgarten

MSI Reproductive Choices UK

natural contraception

UK – The abortion buffer zone battle

Aug 12, 2024
Maria Zaccaro, BBC South Investigations

The debate over abortion has split countries for generations. While it continues to divide opinions across the world, protests outside abortion clinics in England and Wales could soon be banned under a new law. But what would that mean?

Speaking to BBC South, a nurse explained how the regular presence of protesters outside her workplace made her feel "frightened" to go to work, while another woman said campaigners outside an abortion clinic "saved my daughter's life".

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6yyz413q5o

Abortion investigations causing women ‘life-changing harm’, says UK expert

Women losing ‘everything’ after being accused of illegal abortion in England and Wales, even if not charged, says Dr Jonathan Lord

Emine Sinmaz, Guardian
Sat 27 Jan 2024

Women in England and Wales accused of having illegal abortions have been held in custody after pregnancy loss, had their children taken into care and been saddled with debt, an expert has said.

Dr Jonathan Lord, a co-chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) abortion taskforce, said he was aware of up to 30 “deeply traumatic” cases where women had been investigated by the police, with some suffering “life-changing harm”. He said: “We’ve had patients lose everything – lose their home, lose their children, lose their relationship with their partner – purely as a consequence of the investigation.”

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/27/abortion-investigations-causing-women-life-changing-harm-says-uk-expert

UK – ‘Extortionate’ childcare costs pushing women to have abortions as terminations rise to record levels

Exclusive: Six in 10 women who have had an abortion said the cost of childcare put them off pregnancy

Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent
May 29, 2023

A woman who had an abortion because she couldn’t afford another child is one of a growing number of parents terminating pregnancies because of financial pressures.

Leila*, a mother-of-one who works in the financial industry, told The Independent the staggering cost of childcare was one of the main drivers behind her decision to end her pregnancy in April 2021.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/abortions-childcare-costs-nursery-fees-b2298246.html

29.05.2023

News

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

MSI Reproductive Choices UK

Pregnant Then Screwed

Sylvia Anna

Europe

United Kingdom

UK among most liberal countries on divorce and abortion, survey reveals

Global study shows significant shift in UK attitudes on matters such as casual sex and assisted dying

Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent
Tue 7 Mar 2023

The UK has overtaken Canada, Germany and Australia to become one of the world’s most socially liberal nations towards divorce and abortion, the latest wave of a global study has revealed.

Significant increases in the last five years in people saying the practices are justifiable is mirrored by sharply increasing acceptance of homosexuality, casual sex and prostitution over the same period, the World Values Survey found.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/07/uk-among-most-liberal-countries-on-divorce-and-abortion-survey-reveals

07.03.2023

News

Bobby Duffy

Jonathan Lord

MSI Reproductive Choices UK

opinion polls on abortion

Policy Institute

public support for abortion

World Values Survey

Europe

United Kingdom

UK – Will At-Home Abortions Be Available As Coronavirus Restrictions Ease?

Alice Broster
Feb 27, 2021

At the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, the UK government announced that early abortion care would be available at home, via telemedicine. The government is now debating whether to continue this as lockdown eases or go back to only administering abortions within a medical setting. Medical professionals from MSI Reproductive Choices UK and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service have argued for increased access to abortions as a matter of essential healthcare throughout the pandemic and research has found that at-home early medical abortions are no riskier and have cut down waiting periods which is essential when people are wanting to have a termination.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2021/02/27/will-at-home-abortions-be-available-as-coronavirus-restrictions-ease/?sh=686aaf192add

UK – The majority of people want to make at-home abortions legal

It's an issue currently being debated by the government

by JENNIFER SAVIN
FEB 19, 2021

A ground-breaking new study of over 50,000 medical abortions has found that the at-home option (introduced temporarily during the pandemic, for those up to 10 weeks pregnant) was not only safe and effective, but allowed more people to easily access the healthcare they required. The results of the study have been released during an especially poignant time, as the government is currently examining whether or not to make at-home abortions a permanent option in England.

The study looked at abortions carried out in England, Scotland and Wales, both before and after the pandemic, and researchers, from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), MSI Reproductive Choices UK and the University of Texas at Austin, say their aim was to compare the data and see how the telemedicine service compares to the services previously available.

Continued: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a35558873/at-home-abortions-legal-study/