Scotland – Leading anti-abortion figure standing for Reform UK in May elections

April 13, 2026
By Steph Brawn

A WARNING that reproductive rights "are not safe" with Reform UK has been issued after it emerged a leading anti-abortion figure is standing for the party in England's local elections. Lois McLatchie Miller is standing for Nigel Farage's party in the affluent London area of Maida Vale next month.

McLatchie Miller has worked for years for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) – a Christian group known for its work overturning abortion rights in the US as well as opposing LGBT+ rights – and has made regular appearances on GB News and Talk TV.

Continued: https://archive.is/Eo0Mq
(https://www.thenational.scot/news/26017330.leading-anti-abortion-figure-standing-reform-uk-may-elections/)

13.04.2026

News

Alliance Defending Freedom

buffer zone laws

Gillian Mackay

Lois McLatchie Miller

Nigel Farage

Reform UK

safe access zones

Southern Poverty Law Center

Anti-abortion group active in Scotland withholds size of US funding

Apr 3, 2025
By James Walker

AN anti-abortion group active in Scotland has withheld details about the amount of US funding it receives.

The National previously revealed that ADF International – one of several groups which has actively looked to challenge Scotland’s abortion buffer zones legislation – received £1,119,975 in 2024 from its US parent entity Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), according to Companies House.

This represented a 281% increase in just two years, as it received £398,000 in 2022. Now, in newly published accounts, the organisation reveals that it has received £1,409,342 in total in 2025 – a hefty increase of over £150k.

Continued: https://archive.is/MAKTm
(https://www.thenational.scot/news/25992604.anti-abortion-group-active-scotland-withholds-size-us-funding/)

03.04.2026

News

ADF International

Alliance Defending Freedom

buffer zone law

Gillian Mackay

safe access zones

Southern Poverty Law Center

Europe

Scotland

Anti-choice

How US groups are driving a new generation of anti-abortion activism in the UK

March 15, 2026

For 21-year-old John Alexander, being against abortion came before finding faith. As a teenager at school in Buckinghamshire, he was confused as to why most of his peers supported access to abortion. On social media he argued vocally against it.

Then, shortly after the pandemic, he became more interested in Christianity. He was raised in the Church of England (CofE), but thought the denomination was "dry" and involved "people sitting in pews not doing much". He was inspired by the young pastor at a Pentecostal Church which discussed social issues like abortion more than CofE churches, he says. He also watched social media videos of street preachers.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2dl5j0w23o

UK – Woman denies abortion clinic ‘buffer zone’ offence

January 29, 2026
Tom Edwards

A woman has pleaded not guilty to a public order offence after being accused of silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, 48, from Malvern in Worcestershire, is the first person in England and Wales to be charged under new "buffer zone" legislation which came into force in October 2024 and restricts some activities near abortion facilities.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgdj3r00p6o

29.01.2026

News

anti-choice harassment

anti-choice protesters

buffer zone law

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce

Netherlands – Minister blocks plan for protest buffer zones around abortion clinics

Friday, 19 December 2025

Plans to create legally mandated buffer zones around abortion clinics to protect visitors from protesters have been halted after last-minute opposition from BBB Vice Prime Minister Mona Keijzer, sources told RTL. The move affects proposals by ministers for Interior and Kingdom Relations, Rijkaart (BBB), and Justice and Security, Van Oosten (VVD).

The proposal, submitted last Friday to the ministerial council, aimed to establish zones around clinics where demonstrations would be restricted. “Women must be guaranteed a quiet passage to an abortion clinic,” the ministers wrote in an unpublished letter seen by RTL. Currently, such protections depend on decisions by individual mayors.

Continued: https://nltimes.nl/2025/12/19/minister-blocks-plan-protest-buffer-zones-around-abortion-clinics

19.12.2025

News

anti-choice harassment

anti-choice protesters

Scotland – Anti-abortion campaigner charged over clinic protest

Dec 19, 2025

Rose Docherty became the first person charged under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after holding up a placard outside the facility in Glasgow in May, and again in September.

Under the laws, introduced in 2024, activities which could "influence or alarm others around hospitals and clinics where terminations are carried out" are prohibited.

Ms Docherty, 75, made no plea during the initial hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday and will appear again on 13 January.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4qp0v2zv1o

19.12.2025

Northern Ireland – Police in Coleraine charge woman under the Abortion Services (SAZ) Act court

11 December 2025

Police in Coleraine have charged a woman in her 50s under the Abortion Services (SAZ) Act with three counts of doing an act in a Safe Access Zone.

The charges relate to incidents at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine between Wednesday 3rd September and Wednesday, 19th November.

She is due to appear before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 5th January. As is procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Source: https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/police-coleraine-charge-woman-under-abortion-services-saz-act-court

11.12.2025

News

Abortion Services (SAZ) Act

anti-choice protesters

NETHERLANDS – Mayors can’t ban protests at abortion clinics, but can set limits: Council of State

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

Mayors can’t ban people from demonstrating at abortion clinics, but they can impose restrictions to prevent disorder, the Council of State ruled in four cases on Wednesday. For example, mayors can prohibit protests directly in front of the clinic’s entrance, as long as the location where demonstrators are permitted is within sight and hearing distance from the clinic, the Council of State said.

Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State issued rulings on four demonstrations at abortion clinics - one in Groningen, one in Amsterdam, and two in Heemstede. In all four cases, the mayor banned protesters from demonstrating directly in front of the clinic’s entrance to prevent disorder. The protesters disagreed with this.

Continued: https://nltimes.nl/2025/12/03/mayors-cant-ban-protests-abortion-clinics-can-set-limits-council-state

03.12.2025

News

anti-choice protesters

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/)

30.11.2025

News

ADF International

anti-choice protesters

buffer zones

Independent Office for Police Conduct

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce

UK – How Washington Turned NHS Abortion Into A Diplomatic Human Rights Cudgel

26 NOV 2025
Impact International

The decision to classify NHS‑funded abortions as a “Human Rights” violation marks a dramatic shift in how Washington uses its flagship Human Rights reporting to judge allied domestic healthcare systems. Through the annual country report, the US now treats “state‑sponsored” abortion, including routine NHS care in England and Wales, as a breach on par with other alleged abuses, transforming a settled area of UK health Policy into evidence of government wrongdoing. At the heart of this move is an attempt to recast abortion, along with other social questions, as a core Human Rights battleground rather than a matter of domestic legislative compromise.

Continued: https://impactpolicies.org/news/676/how-washington-turned-nhs-abortion-into-a-diplomatic-human-rights-cudgel

26.11.2025