How US groups are driving a new generation of anti-abortion activism in the UK19 hours agoShareSaveEve WebsterBBC NewsShareSaveBBCFor 21-year-old John Alexander, being against abortion came before finding faith.As a teenager at school in Buckinghamshire, he was confused as to why most of his peers supported access to abortion. On social media he argued vocally against it.Then, shortly after the pandemic, he became more interested in Christianity. He was raised in the Church of England (CofE), but thought the denomination was "dry" and involved "people sitting in pews not doing much".
He was inspired by the young pastor at a Pentecostal Church which discussed social issues like abortion more than CofE churches, he says. He also watched social media videos of street preachers.At university he joined the pro-life society and later he became a fan of the American right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk."In the UK, people want to be polite, so they don't tackle abortion in the same way because they are scared to talk about it," he says. "For those who are frustrated by the culture here, they look at the States and how vocal people are, and [they] are inspired."Last month, John attended the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children's Youth Conference – where attendance has grown steadily every year since it was created, organisers say.GettyCharlie Kirk, who had ties to the White House, toured universities in the US and other countries preaching anti-abortion politicsAnalysts, charity leaders, and young anti-abortion activists who have spoken to the BBC say they have spotted a rise in the number of British young people embracing anti-abortion activism.
There's no single, clear cause. The BBC has heard explanations that include opposition to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently working its way through Parliament and which will decriminalise abortion at every stage of pregnancy in England and Wales (meaning women will not be prosecuted for ending their own pregnancies, even if they do it late in term, though doctors will still be bound by the existing 24-week limit).And some anti-abortion campaigners cite an increase in young people like John discovering (or rediscovering) Christianity, particularly Catholicism (though this trend is contested).But there's another factor that has become particularly notable in recent months: the influence of America. Some young British people have told the BBC that they have been galvanised by US anti-abortion groups, many of which now have branches in Britain.
And Charlie Kirk – the late political activist who toured US college campuses preaching right-wing views – has become something of a hero among a small group of young British people online.Why are US anti-abortion groups and individuals becoming more prominent in Britain – and could their brand of politics actually succeed in a country with such a different political culture?Kirk and campus politicsThose who support abortion rights say the nature of anti-abortion campaigning in Britain has changed.Rachael Clarke, chief of staff at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the country's largest abortion provider, is one of them."Up until the 2000s you would see maybe a nun or a priest quietly outside the clinic, but since about 2013 we were seeing groups like 40 Days for Life protesting," she says.Created in Texas in 2004, 40 Days for Life is one of several American anti-abortion groups which now has a growing presence in the UK. It supports protesters to work in shifts outside abortion clinics for 40 days over Lent, and another 40 days in the autumn.Clarke says that some British young people have become more interested in anti-abortion ideas, a trend she attributes in part to the likes of 40 Days For Life and other American groups, who she says were galvanised by the US Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022.GettyProtesters from 40 Days For Life demonstrate near a Glasgow hospital in 2025"I think they've been looking about how to expand overseas. And because it's a common language, [the] UK is an easier place to start to echo what they've done in the US in terms of influence and spending."Particularly significant is Turning Point USA, a non-profit organisation that advocates for conservative politics in schools, colleges and universities, founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk, who enjoyed close ties to the White House, particularly Vice President JD Vance.
Kirk was passionately against abortion; he called it a "massacre" that is "worse" than the Holocaust.In 2018, the group launched a branch in the UK (called Turning Point UK).John was a particular fan of Kirk. "His videos are kind of hard to escape," he says.The killing of Kirk at Utah Valley University last year, left a deep impression on John. "Charlie died for standing on the truth of Jesus Christ, and his death should send other Christians a message and should convict us," he said in his TikTok video titled "Charlie Kirk was a Christian Martyr", which has almost 35,000 views.Getty / Inge-Maria BothaInge-Maria Botha, a student at the University of Manchester, was recognised for her anti-abortion activism with an award named after the late American right-wing commentator Charlie KirkInspired by Kirk's activism, John has since made more of his own social media videos.
One of them, called "Britons go to Church", has more than 24,000 views. He also has established a charter of Turning Point UK in Oxford.Meanwhile, in October last year, on the day that would have been Kirk's 32nd birthday, a coalition of ten UK anti-abortion groups established the Charlie Kirk Young Pro-lifer prize. The inaugural winner was Inge-Maria Botha, 22, an undergraduate at the University of Manchester.
