Abortion debate reignited as Sky poll reveals public's view on decriminalisation ahead of Commons vote
On closer inspection, you can make out candles and rosary beads, signalling it's some kind of vigil. As hymns start to be sung, it's revealed to be a gathering to protest against abortion.
Nearly 90% of this country is pro-choice, but a small, vocal minority is becoming more organised in the UK.
Energised by the Trump administration, young and old activists in the UK anti-abortion movement have become more motivated to get their message across.
And all this is happening just as abortion laws in the UK could be about to go through the most significant change in over 50 years.
Nearly three years on from the ruling reversing Roe v Wade - a landmark case that once made abortion legal in the US - the age-old abortion debate has become even more political in the UK.
A breakthrough moment came when Vice President JD Vance criticised the UK laws on abortion buffer zones - areas outside clinics where police are allowed to use their discretion to stop anyone harassing women entering abortion clinics.
One of the cases cited by the vice president was that of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.
She's a lifelong anti-abortion activist who has been handing out leaflets outside clinics for 20 years. Since buffer zones came into force, she now visits to silently pray once a week. In 2022, she was arrested outside an abortion clinic for silent prayer and taken to court, although the charges were later dropped.
She also received £13,000 in a civil claim against West Midlands Police, which did not admit liability.
"They actually asked me what I was doing, and I said, well, I'm just physically standing here. I might be praying in my head, but nothing out loud. And on that basis, they made an arrest. I was heavily searched, I was taken to the police station, locked in a police cell for hours before being questioned under caution. And then, eventually, I went to court.
"I believe that abortion centres are like the modern-day Calvary. This is where the innocent are being put to death. I might not be physically interacting with anybody or stopping anyone or talking to anyone, just to be there in prayer is really, really important from a spiritual perspective."
For people like Ailish McEntee, any type of protest is a distraction, which she says is not wanted by the women who come to the clinic she works at in London. She's hoping that this week MPs will go further on abortion laws and pass an amendment through the Commons to decriminalise abortion for anyone seeking an abortion up to 24 weeks.
"The law itself works very well for the majority of people, but for those individuals in those kind of really high-risk domestic abuse situations... they maybe can't make it to a clinic, they might seek abortion care from those kind of unregulated providers.
"So this amendment would take away that decriminalisation of women themselves. And it's a really strange part of the law that we have.
"I think particularly in recent years, with Roe v Wade overturning and Donald Trump winning the election again, I think it's really pushed forward the anti-choice rhetoric that has always been there, but it's absolutely ramping up."
According to polling by Sky News and YouGov, 55% of people are in favour of the law changing to stop women being criminalised for their own abortion before 24 weeks.
Surprisingly though, 22% said they believe women should be investigated or imprisoned for abortion after 24 weeks.
Stella Creasy is one of the MPs laying down an amendment to try to decriminalise abortion.
"There's no other health care provision that we see with a criminal foundation in this way and it has a very real practical consequence.
"We've seen some incredibly vulnerable women and girls who didn't even know that they were pregnant who have late-term miscarriages finding themselves with police officers rather than counsellors at their hospital beds finding themselves under suspicion for months, if not years, and I just don't think that's where the British public are at."
But Rachel is concerned by this amendment. She runs sessions at the UK arm of Rachel's Vineyard - a faith-based organisation originally founded in the United States, dedicated to, in their words, "healing the trauma of abortion". They frame abortion not as a medical procedure, but as a harm to mothers and fathers.
"With all sudden deaths, whether you are 80 years of age or you're 26 weeks born, you know, out of the womb, and you've died, you've sadly died, we need to be able to investigate that. For us to have compassion, we need to have justice."
In Northern Ireland, where the decriminalisation battle was won in 2019, I met Emma, who fought on the campaign at Alliance for Choice.
She says police searches were a daily routine for her, and since 2019, she has been able to continue helping women navigate abortion care without the threat of being investigated.
Orfhlaith Campbell should have been one of the lucky ones. She was able to seek a medical abortion at 23 weeks in Northern Ireland, two years after it had been decriminalised, but she says she had to fight to get the care she needed.
She was on the cusp of the medical time limit when she suffered a premature rupture of membranes, went into labour and was told she would likely develop sepsis.
"I would have died and my daughter was dying, I could feel her dying, and it was a compassionate choice. When we got the post-mortem after, the infection had went into her wee body too, and she had nuclear debris in her lungs. If she had survived at all, it would have been a very, very painful existence.
"So yes, I had to break through the stigma that had been ingrained in me in Northern Ireland. I had to break through legal fights and the barriers that were being put in place. But I was strong enough to know that that was compassionate and that healthcare was needed both for me and her."
The UK is majority pro-choice, and our polling shows the majority are for decriminalising abortion.
But activists who are against abortion are energised by the changing landscape of the debate in the US.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
SNP Government-backed ferry firm shells out almost £2million in compensation
The SNP's ferry fiasco deepened last night as it was revealed CalMac has had to pay out almost £2 million in compensation to passengers because of delays and cancellations in less than a decade. Scotland's state-owned ferry operator has handed customers at least £1.9 million to cover the cost of cancellations, alternative travel arrangements, food and accommodation since 2017, new figures show. In the last financial year alone it gave out £432,735 in compensation to travellers – with a further £33,792 paid out in recent months It comes as MailOnline told last month how an astonishing 10,809 crossings were scrapped by the operator in just over two years due to technical faults. The firm has suffered years of problems caused by its ageing fleet, which is meant to provide a lifeline to Scotland's island communities. Services have also been impacted by the almost £500 million scandal surrounding delivery of its two new ferries for the Arran service, the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, which have been dogged by years of delays and spiralling costs. Scottish Lib Dem transport spokesman Jamie Greene said: 'The bill for cancellations and compensation is soaring because the SNP have let the Scottish ferry network deteriorate. 'The hardworking staff at CalMac have been let down by an SNP government that took control of the company and broke their promise to deliver new ferries on time and on budget, which would have reduced the massive bills we now see for compensation and repairs. 'All of this has created a grim new norm for my constituents along the West coast, from losing business to missing hospital appointments.' Data released to Mr Greene's party under freedom of information laws show there were 7,058 customer claims made to CalMac between April 2023 and April 2025. CalMac paid £432,735 in compensation to travellers in 2024-25, with a further £33,792 paid out in May and June this year – the first two months of 2025-26. The compensation bill for last year is up by more than 37 per cent from 2023-24, when CalMac shelled out £314,494 – but is still lower than in 2022-23 when payments amounted to £454,000. A number of vital routes are said to constantly suffer changes to routes and timetables or cancellations owing to a 'lack of vessel availability', with a key factor being the age of the 35-strong fleet Many vessels have had to operate beyond their expected lifespans, leading to increasing breakdowns. A CalMac spokeswoman said: 'We offer compensation if a journey has been disrupted or cancelled for specific reasons. 'It is no secret that our fleet is ageing and this can lead to higher levels of technical problems.' A Transport Scotland spokesman said: 'CalMac are delivering services in increasingly challenging weather and the arrival of 13 new vessels by 2029 will reduce technical issues and these modern vessels should also be able to operate in more challenging conditions.'
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Strictly faces fresh scandal after BBC reportedly calls in police over new allegations
The BBC has asked the police to investigate Strictly Come Dancing amid fresh allegations, according to reports, after claims two of its stars used cocaine. The Sun On Sunday reported that the corporation has alerted the Metropolitan Police to new allegations about the dance competition show, the details of which it does not specify. A BBC spokesperson said on Saturday that the corporation does not comment on police investigations. It comes after reports in The Sun earlier this month alleged two Strictly cast members' drug use was discussed on the BBC dancing show, and said that the corporation had appointed law firm Pinsent Masons to lead the investigation. The scandal-hit show was also the subject of a review in 2024, when the BBC looked into allegations of bullying and harassment against former professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, made by his former dance partner, Amanda Abbington. The corporation upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made, and introduced a series of new measures aimed at improving welfare. This included the introduction of a chaperone who is present 'at all times' during training room rehearsals. EastEnders star James Borthwick was also suspended from the BBC after a video emerged of the actor using a disabled slur on the set of the dance programme. The cocaine use allegations were reportedly made in a legal submission by law firm Russells in March on behalf of former contestant Wynne Evans, who was dropped by the BBC after apologising for using 'inappropriate language' during the launch of the Strictly tour. It is understood that the BBC often appoints external law firms to help it lead investigations. The BBC spokesperson previously said: 'We have clear protocols and policies in place for dealing with any serious complaint raised with us. 'We would always encourage people to speak to us if they have concerns. It would not be appropriate for us to comment further.'
Times
25 minutes ago
- Times
If police can't stop shop theft, let's try the stocks
The apostle of free-market economics, Adam Smith, claimed that Britain was 'a nation that is governed by shopkeepers'. He meant it as a compliment. But now we are becoming, instead, more a nation of shoplifters. Which we would not be if those behind the tills were actually running the country and in charge of making and enforcing the law. Last month it was reported that annual shoplifting in England and Wales amounted to 530,643 incidents, more than double the rate of 20 years ago, and beating the previous year's unwelcome record by more than 20 per cent. That equates to nearly three robberies a minute during opening hours, according to the British Retail Consortium. Yet that is a gross underestimate of the scale of the problem, since the police-recorded figures are a small fraction of the total: the majority of shops tend to report an incident to the cops only when they have observed the offender in action, or have CCTV evidence. And even in those cases the forces of law and order seem largely uninterested. Last year a fashion boutique called Riccado, a family business that had been trading in Chiswick High Road, west London, for 40 years, was ransacked — not for the first time — by a gang who carted off clothing worth at least £25,000 at retail prices. The manager called the police to say that she had footage of the incident on CCTV, and that it showed the faces of some of the gang. The police never came round, so eight days later the manager went to them and handed over the footage. Immediate result, sort of: next day she was told by the police: 'It is unlikely we will be able to identify those responsible. We have therefore closed the case.' When the police have such an attitude, it is hardly surprising that the shoplifting figures are rising in every passing year. Or that Marks & Spencer had to resort to using a private police force (TM Eye) for a successful prosecution with a jail sentence at the end of it after the local constabulary did not deign to investigate an incident at one of its shops in which a thief, David Hanson, with 105 previous convictions, had been recorded on CCTV smashing a reinforced glass window and grabbing £500 worth of goods. Smaller shops do not have the resources of M&S. Which helps explain the actions of Rob Davies, the owner of Run Ragged, a Wrexham vintage clothing shop, who, after the local police failed to turn up to investigate a string of robberies, put up a sign in his shop which read: 'Due to scumbags shoplifting, please ask for assistance to open the cabinets.' Then, the police did show up … to inform Davies someone had complained that his handwritten sign was 'provocative and offensive'. Perhaps it was one of the more sensitive of the local shoplifters. According to the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, the scourge of shoplifting is partly the fault of law-abiding customers for not taking on the robbers ourselves. This summer he declared: 'If you're not even going to challenge people, you're not going to try and stop them, then people will get away with it. That's not just about policing. That's a bigger problem with society. People who [don't do anything] — you're part of the problem.' Barely a fortnight ago, in an Iceland supermarket in Clifton, Nottinghamshire, two women were assaulted when they did, indeed, challenge a man they saw putting items in his backpack. He put his hands round the neck of one and threatened to kill the other. So perhaps Barber might like to think again. However, there is a way in which the local citizenry could get involved, more safely, in taking satisfying action against convicted shoplifters. If only we brought back the stocks, the ancient remedy of pelting the miscreant with rotten fruit could be restored — perhaps with produce our ancestors could never have imagined, such as (very soft and well past their sell-by date) avocados and kiwi fruit. I made this suggestion, in a slightly different context, a year ago, when a serial offender named Walid Raoul was convicted of stealing a £50,000 watch from Mark Beard outside the Connaught Hotel in London. His accomplice had also attempted to rip the rings from the hand of Beard's wife, Annli, breaking one of her fingers. The judge at Southwark crown court, Quinton Newcomb, suspended the sentence (of two years) because he said he had 'to take into account the current overcrowding of this country's prisons'. Mr and Mrs Beard, understandably, were not impressed. Those prisons have become still more overcrowded, with the result that convicted shoplifters (the unlucky small minority who are successfully prosecuted) are even less likely to do time. My point was that, as one historian noted, the public stocks, as a form of punishment, had been 'rendered obsolete by the development of the modern prison system, which took justice out of the town square and moved it behind bars'; so, if our judges were declaring our 'modern prison system' unavailable, because of overbooking and underbuilding, it might be necessary to return to the status quo ante. It could be implemented quickly — at least in the sense that while the pillory was excised from the statute book in 1837, the stocks are still available. In fact, a 1405 statute, which has never been abolished, requires every town to have a set. A most visible deterrent for (very) common thieves. One legislator has since proposed something along these lines. He is the Labour peer Lord Glasman, who recently declared: 'I'm quite in favour of public humiliation of these shoplifters: bringing back the stocks, pelting them with rotten fruit. The old ways are the good ways!' I got in touch with Glasman, using the not quite so medieval means of WhatsApp to tell him: 'Last year I advocated the return of the stocks. Unaccountably the then Conservative government failed to take up my suggestion. But with your influence in the Labour Party, I'm sure Keir Starmer will listen.' 'Ho, ho, ho,' was Glasman's reply. Yet his point about the deterrent value of public humiliation was serious. In the world we live in, however, when it was recently suggested that shopkeepers might put up photo images of local thieves — a very dilute form of the same idea — they were warned by the Information Commissioner's Office that this 'may not be appropriate', on the grounds that retailers 'must only share personal information that's proportionate and necessary to achieve your purpose'. So, no shaming for the perpetrators of a shockingly increasing crime that is ravaging our already ailing high streets. And no respite for the shopkeepers who are at the heart of communities. It doesn't exactly make you proud to be British.
