UK Life League is a British

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

that opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. It describes itself as "The premier

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

and family values campaigning organisation" and as "peacefully campaigning to end the violence of abortion". Life League is led by James Dowson, a

Christian fundamentalist Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, based in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Formerly a fundraiser for the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

, Dowson set up a new nationalist movement,

Britain First Britain First is a far-right, British fascist political party formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party (BNP). The group was founded by Jim Dowson, an anti-abortion and far-right campaigner. * ''See also'': The organisa ...

, in May 2011, and in April 2013 helped to found the

Protestant Coalition The Protestant Coalition was an Ulster loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was registered on 23 April 2013,Register of political parties aElectoral Commissionwebsite and launched on 24 April at a hotel in Castlereagh, outside Belfas ...

political party.

Controversies

The group regularly sends explicit images of aborted foetuses discovered in British hospital refuse, to

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

organisations, hospitals and individuals such as newspaper columnists and the blogger Simon Howard, who they believe oppose their position. A spokesperson for Marie Stopes UK stated in 2006 that aborted foetuses had not been disposed of in such a manner for over 20 years, and alleged that the "images come from American websites, and some look as if they have been tampered with." In 2005, Life League activist Veronica Connolly was prosecuted for sending offensive images to a pharmacy distributing the

morning-after pill Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), o ...

. In January 2007 Connolly lost an appeal to the High Court. In 2005, the group published the address and telephone number of

Woldingham School Woldingham School is an independent school for girls, located in the former Marden Park of outside the village of Woldingham, Surrey, in South East England. It is a Roman Catholic school and a member of the global Network of Sacred Heart Schools ...

, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, whose headmistress they accused of "child abuse" and of teaching pupils "types of contraception they can use to facilitate recreational sex". The school responded that, "What we teach falls entirely within the

national curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

and the way in which we teach the use of contraception is in the context of a committed relationship. Every Catholic school in the country will be doing what we are doing", and expressed concern that the publication of the school's details had endangered its pupils. Life League's tactics have been described by the police as "akin to those of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

extremists" and the group's activities have been investigated by the

National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU) was a British police organisation funded by, and reporting to, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that coordinated police action against groups in the United Kingdom it des ...

. In 2006, the group characterised ethical guideline proposals by the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...

and the

Nuffield Council on Bioethics The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on bioethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research. Established in 1991, the Council is funded by the Nuffield F ...

that severely premature babies likely to suffer from severe disabilities not necessarily be revived as "calls for severely disabled babies to be killed at birth" and as "baby euthanasia".

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

UK Life League
Anti-abortion organisations in the United Kingdom