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

Britain is seeing a new generation of anti-abortion activism, with 21-year-old John Alexander illustrating the trend.

“For 21-year-old John Alexander, being against abortion came before finding faith”

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Raised in the Church of England, he found his faith through a Pentecostal Church and online street preachers, joined his university’s pro-life society, and became an admirer of American right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk.

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He notes that British students tend to be polite and less confrontational about abortion, so they look to the more vocal US model for inspiration.

John attended the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children’s Youth Conference, where organisers say attendance has grown steadily.

He has since started a Turning Point UK chapter in Oxford and made pro-life videos that have thousands of views, including one titled 'Britons go to Church'.

In October last year a coalition of ten UK anti-abortion groups launched the Charlie Kirk Young Pro-lifer prize; the inaugural winner was Inge-Maria Botha, 22, an undergraduate at the University of Manchester, who says the prize recognises courage and action rather than alignment on every belief.

US anti-abortion groups have expanded their footprint in Britain, with organisations such as 40 Days for Life operating outside clinics since 2013 and Turning Point USA launching a UK chapter in 2018.

Some participants credit the US Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of Roe v Wade for momentum.

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BPAS chief of staff Rachael Clarke says the influence is partly due to groups echoing US tactics, investment, and a shared language that makes outreach easier in the UK.

Funding data from Amnesty International UK shows a 34% rise in expenditure by 2020-2023 among 25 anti-abortion groups, and a 46% rise for British branches of US organisations.

Rachel’s Vineyard UK, which started in 2020 with under £12,000, spent £77,662 in the financial year ending March 2025, and asserts it is funded entirely through UK charitable giving.

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), via its UK arm, reports US funding rising from £324,000 in 2020 to £1.1m in 2024, out of £1.3m total income, helping it expand staff from three to nine.

ADF UK says its work is privately funded and compliant with regulations; critics say the group uses legal frameworks to advance a broader anti-abortion agenda and to assist protesters in challenging buffer zones.

Britain has already moved toward decriminalisation of abortion, with a broad pro-choice consensus in national politics and MPs voting to decriminalise abortion in June last year.

“For 21-year-old John Alexander, being against abortion came before finding faith”

BBC

The Public Order Act (2023) created 150-metre buffer zones outside clinics in England and Wales, with a similar Scotland law in 2024, and has been a flashpoint for anti-abortion protesters and their legal supporters.

ADF UK has provided legal assistance to four protesters charged with breaching buffer zones; two named clients, Livia Tossici-Bolt and Adam Smith-Connor, were convicted in Bournemouth last April and in October 2024 respectively, receiving conditional discharges and costs.

Academic expert Professor Fiona De Londras says UK freedom of speech law allows more limits in balancing rights, and she notes that ADF’s strategy is a long-game; a US-style expansion of anti-abortion activism faces structural differences in the UK.

ADF argues its work reflects pro-life and pro-speech rights, while others argue the approach instrumentalises free speech for a broader aim.

Even with new energy and funding from American groups, the UK’s abortion stance remains broadly pro-choice.

A National Centre for Social Research 2024 report found that 86% of British adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, versus 63% in the US.

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Ipsos data show that less than half—46%—of British men aged 16-34 think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

None of the major parties that won seats in England, Scotland, or Wales at the last election promised to restrict abortion in their manifesto, and MPs voted to decriminalise abortion in June last year.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of March for Life UK, says the movement is older in the UK and tends to be gentler, while acknowledging growing participation among young people; she is currently facing trial in October for a public order offence and continues to raise funds.

The article ends by noting that while the movement is energized by foreign funding and new energy, Britain’s broadly pro-choice consensus remains the default, making the long-term outcome uncertain for the country.