Thousands to take part in March for Life UK amid accusations of 'far-right' mobilisation

The annual March for Life UK will take place in London this weekend as the UK Parliament considers amendments to the Crime and Safety Bill that would legalise abortion up to birth.

Organisers of the march on 6 September expect a turnout similar to last year’s, when an estimated 10,000 people took part. The march will begin at 1.30 p.m. at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster, before processing along and through Millbank, Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, before returning to Parliament Square for speeches.

The march occurs in the shadow of a potential landmark legal change in the UK. On 17 June, the House of Commons passed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which would decriminalise abortion in England and Wales if the Bill passes into law.

Introduced by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the amendment removes the threat of criminal prosecution for women who terminate their own pregnancies, effectively repealing parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.

The amendment would mean that women no longer face legal consequences for self-managed abortions, such as taking medication or accessing abortion pills online, beyond the legal limit.

This year’s March for Life UK event is being led by Isabel Vaughn-Spruce, who came to public attention when she was arrested in Birmingham for silently praying outside an abortion facility.

This year's march is supported by a broad ecumenical coalition, comprising one of the largest gatherings of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant leaders in what is shaping up to be one of the largest ecumenical witnesses to life issues to occur in Britain in decades.  

Catholic bishops taking part include Bishop Tim Menezes, auxiliary of Birmingham; Bishop David Waller, head of the Ordinariate; Bishop Paul Swarbrick of Lancaster; Bishop Ralph Heskett of Hallam; Bishop Bosco MacDonald of Clifton; Bishop John Keenan of Paisley; and Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham. They will be joined by Father Armand de Malleray of the FSSP and Canon Montjean of the ICKSP.

From the Church of England, Bishop Martin Warner of Chichester and Bishop Richard Jackson of Hereford will attend. Other participants include Lynda Rose, Andrea Williams, Glen Scrivener, Dr Aaron Edwards, Regan King, and Father Mark Tattum-Smith of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Critics of the march, however, have sought to label the demonstration as a far-right mobilisation. An article in Freedom this week described March for Life UK as "part of an international Christian fundamentalist project" linked to right-wing politics in the US and Britain.

“The movement is part of the dangerous, growing fascist coalition," argues Freedom. "In the UK, we are seeing an emboldened far-right, with St George’s crosses across towns and cities, and racist assaults against migrants on the rise.

"Mainstream fascists are expected to attend, in coalition with the fundamentalist Christians. It’s critical we hold our ground and stop them dictating the narrative."

Ben Weller, communications officer at the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, told the Catholic Herald that they reject such claims.

“The idea that the March for Life is at all partisan is a ridiculous notion,” Weller says. “When more than 10,000 people gather together it’s doubtful that they all share a common political creed.

"This was epitomised in the vote for abortion decriminalisation, which was not fought on party lines. Abortion is a human rights issue, not a far-right one.”

He added that this year's march will also see participation from Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, a left-leaning feminist and LGBT-focused group from the United States, with Weller arguing that this demonstrates how the issue is not about politics rather about protecting life.

March for Life UK, which was founded in Birmingham in 2013 and relocated to London in 2018, has grown steadily in size and profile over the years, drawing participants from across the country and abroad.

With the UK government preparing to debate the most radical extension of abortion law in British history, organisers say this year’s march will be the most significant to date.

Photo: image from March for Life UK at facebook.com/MarchForLifeUK.

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