 after taking the abortion pill.' Yet NHS guidance makes it clear that just 1 in 1,000 abortions will have serious complications, such as heavy bleeding, while 70 in 1,000 may need a secondary, usually minor, procedure. This summer, the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists debunked the effectiveness of so-called 'reversal pills', saying that there is 'no reputable evidence' they work. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has warned that given improperly, progesterone can cause damage to the nervous, cardiovascular and endocrine systems. A 2020 medical trial was ended after several patients experienced serious haemorrhaging. In an email, 40 Days for Life founder Shawn Carney - a 40-year-old Texan and father of eight - tells me that it is an 'absurd claim that volunteers are handing out unregulated pills, when in fact, volunteers are simply providing information for alternatives to abortion and giving women a choice if they want other options.' He claims that since he started the group in 2004, it has '){kind=link}
An American group which is staging ‘vigils’ outside UK abortion clinics has been accused of harassment, intimidation and misinformation
It is 8.30 on an autumnal Wednesday morning, and a group of people are standing on a grass verge outside Bournemouth’s abortion clinic. One middle-aged man holds up rosary beads. A silver-haired woman is carrying a placard which reads ‘Pregnant? Need Help?’ and is accompanied by a phone number. They have gathered to protest against abortion as part of a six-week ‘vigil’ organised by Texas-based group 40 Days For Life.
The group holds internationally-coordinated demonstrations around the world, twice a year – but this is the first since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade in June, after which a dozen US states banned abortion in almost all circumstances.
And, since the demonstration began in September, pro-life protesters have gathered in more than a dozen other cities across Britain, including Leeds, Reading, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Cardiff, Liverpool, Southampton and Brighton – hundreds of volunteers operating a rota system to ensure a round-the-clock presence.
“We have seen an increase in protests outside clinics since Roe was overturned. It feels like they’ve been emboldened. As though they think this is their time,” says Katherine O’Brien at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas), the UK’s largest abortion provider.