Anti-Abortion Activism in the UK

Ultra-sacrificial Motherhood, Religion and Reproductive Rights in the Public Sphere

in English, 296 pages,
Emerald Publishing Limited, April 19, 2022
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Drawing from extensive ethnographic research on abortion debates in public spaces, this book explores the beliefs, motivations and practices of UK anti-abortion activists. Whilst they represent a tiny minority, there is recent evidence of an increase in activism outside UK abortion clinics; faith-based groups regularly organise ‘vigils’ seeking to deter service users from entering clinics. In response to this, pro-choice groups launched a campaign for buffer-zones around clinics. Although there is overwhelming public support for abortion, it remains an area of public contestation that touches on ideas about bodily autonomy, religious freedom and reproductive rights. Despite being active in the UK since before the 1967 Abortion Act, anti-abortion activism has received little attention.

Taking a lived religion approach that draws on extensive ethnographic research on abortion debates in public spaces, Anti-Abortion Activism in the UK explores the sacred and profane commitments of anti-abortion activists and counter-demonstrations outside clinics, examining the contestations over space.