This year’s March for Life in the UK is predicted to be the largest on record, with thousands of pro-lifers expected to descend on London on 6 September.
While the March for Life has for decades been a huge event in the US political calendar, its British equivalent has a much briefer and more modest history.
Starting in 2013 in Birmingham with just a few hundred determined people, the British event has grown substantially in just over a decade, moving to London in 2018 and drawing up to 10,000 people last year.
This year’s event is expected to be the largest ever and could be of greater importance following the House of Commons' recent vote in favour of the complete decriminalisation of abortion at any point during a pregnancy.
That controversial vote has yet to become law, as it must still pass through the Lords and receive royal assent.
Pro-life activists hope a large turnout will help impress upon parliamentarians the strength of feeling against such a radical position on abortion.
Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said, “We encourage all those who value life to come to the March for Life UK and make your voice heard.”
The event will begin at 10am at the Emmanuel Centre where there will be a range of pro-life stalls and a 'Pro-life Human Rights Summit'.
The march itself will begin at 1:30pm and will finish with a rally in Parliament Square.
Speaking at the rally will be Carla Lockhart MP, Chair of the Pro-Life All-Party Parliamentary Group; Sara Spencer, a student midwife who was suspended for her pro-life views; Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, co-director of March for Life UK, who has been arrested twice and is currently under investigation for silently praying near abortion clinics; and abortion survivor Josiah Presley.
