April 27, 2018 (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children) – Today, Friday, 27 April 2018, marks 50 years since the 1967 Abortion Act came into force.
The bill received Royal Assent on 27 October 1967, and abortions under the new regime began six months later. Since then, over 9 million lives have been lost to abortion.
Across the country, pro-lifers are preparing to mark this tragic anniversary.
March for Life
This year's UK March for Life is taking place on 5 May, the nearest possible Saturday to the anniversary. The March is making the move to London after 5 years of being held in Birmingham, and will end in Parliament Square. Because of the significance of this anniversary to the UK pro-life movement, the March's organisers are this year choosing speakers with specific experience of abortion in the UK.
They include Clare McCullough, head of the Good Counsel Network, Rachel McKenzie of Rachel's Vineyard, and Aisling Hubert of the Centre for Bioethical Reform. There will also be testimonies from mothers who were helped to keep their babies by pro-life counsellors outside abortion clinics.
Day of Atonement
On Sunday, Catholics across the UK will gather for the Rosary on the Coast. Groups will gather in hundreds of different locations on the coast, praying for For Faith, Life and Peace in the British Isles. One of the aims of the event is “to inspire a pro-life conscience among all peoples through a loving and compassionate witness.” Preparations for the event include 40 days of spiritual preparation, “ending on 27 April, the day of the fiftieth anniversary of the Abortion Act coming into effect, for a day of intense reparation, prayer and sacrifice for the tragedy of its passing and implementation.”
SPUC events
SPUC branches across the country will be taking part in the annual pro-life chain, mostly on Saturday 28 April. Reports on SPUC and SPUC Scotland's commemorations will be online today.
Published with permission from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.