Del 0 - Emerald Studies in Reproduction, Culture and Society

Anti-Abortion Activism in the UK

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

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

AvPam Lowe,Sarah-Jane Page

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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, 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. The authors argue that as a moral reform social movement, the anti-abortion activists typically frame their activism in terms of risk and abortion harm, but their religiously-informed understanding of ultra-sacrificial motherhood as ‘natural’ for women undermines this framing. Their conservative gender and sexuality attitudes position them culturally as a moral minority. The displays of public religion are also anomalous in a country in which religion is usually seen as a private issue. Their presence outside abortion clinics causes a significant amount of distress, but public support for the establishment of safe zones outside of abortion-service provision is strong and is a proportionate response to safeguard the freedoms of those seeking abortion.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-05-18
Mått152 x 229 x 13 mm
Vikt336 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieEmerald Studies in Reproduction, Culture and Society
Antal sidor248
FörlagEmerald Publishing Limited
ISBN9781839094019

Tillhör följande kategorier

Etiska frågor och debatter inom Samhälle och politik
Sociologi inom Samhälle och politik
Antropologi inom Samhälle och politik

Pam Lowe is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Policy at Aston University. She has researched and written extensively in the area of women’s reproductive and sexual health, with a particular interest in pregnancy, abortion and early parenting.Sarah-Jane Page is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University. Her research focuses on religion and its interaction with sexuality and gender issues. She has specifically worked on projects examining religion, youth and sexuality and women priests in the Church of England.

Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Opposition to Abortion: A UK History Chapter 3. Understanding Anti-abortion Activism as Lived Religion Chapter 4. The Worldviews of Anti-abortion Activists Chapter 5. Ultra-sacrificial Motherhood and the ‘Harms’ of Abortion Chapter 6. Foetal Stories Chapter 7. Being an Activist: Material Religion, Embodiment, and Spatiality Chapter 8. The Pro-choice Response: Counterdemonstrations Chapter 9. Abortion Cultures Chapter 10. Conclusion Appendix 1. The Research Journey

Although this book is primarily UK focused; I implore US readers not to let this deter you as there is a great deal to be learned. To begin with, although many have written extensively about the relationship between religiosity and anti-abortion activism, Lowe and Page provide a brilliantly original and sharply-focused articulation of this activism as an invocation of “lived religion,” which is ritualized in the public zone outside of reproductive health clinics. With great acumen, their characterization of these engagements as the creation of sacred spaces devoted to the ideals of ultra-sacrificial motherhood provides non-geographically specific insights into the extent to which religious beliefs permeate the effort to turn “abortion-minded” women towards motherhood. At the same time, however, the authors also stress the importance of recognizing national contexts. In this regard, I must confess to being rather astounded to read about some of the critical contrasts between the UK and US contexts, particularly with respect to how abortion is more a matter of private conscience in the former rather than target of righteous conservative lawmakers as in the US. Importantly, this contextualization offers potentially new and productive ways of seeing and conceptualizing that which is familiar. I also want to commend Lowe and Page for their clear and highly comprehensible writing style. No terse overly-academic language here. This makes the book an invaluable and appealing read for multiple audiences, including academics, students, activists, policy-makers, and the interested public.