{{Short description|Movement that believes abortion should be illegal}} {{Redirect|Pro-life}} {{pp-protected|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Use American English|date=January 2019}} [[File:Manifestazione pro-vita.jpg|thumb|An anti-abortion demonstration in [[Rome]] in 2019]] '''Anti-abortion movements''', also self-styled as '''pro-life movements''', are involved in the [[abortion debate]] advocating against the practice of [[abortion]] and its [[Abortion by country|legality]]. Many anti-abortion movements began as [[countermovement]]s in response to the legalization of [[elective abortion]]s.
==Europe== {{main|Abortion law}} [[File:AntiAbortionDemonstration.jpg|thumb|"Each Life Matters" demonstration in [[Madrid]] in October 2009]] In Europe, abortion law varies by country, and has been legalized through parliamentary acts in some countries, and constitutionally banned or heavily restricted in others. In Western Europe this has had the effect at once of both more closely regulating the use of abortion, and at the same time mediating and reducing the impact anti-abortion campaigns have had on the law.<ref name="Outshoorn96">{{cite book|last=Outshoorn|first=Joyce|title=Abortion politics: public policy in cross-cultural perspective|year=1996|publisher=Routledge|editor=Marianne Givens|editor2=Dorothy M. Stetson|page=161|chapter=The stability of compromise: Abortion politics in Western Europe|quote=...parliamentary decision are sustained by political parties which, in comparison to the United States, are deeply rooted in European society. The political parties have managed to regulate and pacify the political reform process, which in the decision-making stage marginalized opposition outside parliament.}}</ref>
===France=== {{Main|Abortion in France}} The first specifically anti-abortion organization in France, Laissez-les-vivre-SOS futures mères, was created in 1971 during the debate that was to lead to the [[Simone Veil#Minister of Health, 1974–1979|Veil Law]] in 1975. Its main spokesman was the geneticist [[Jérôme Lejeune]]. Since 2005, the French anti-abortion movement has organized an annual [[March for Life (Paris)|March for Life]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.com/2014/01/19/thousands-take-part-in-paris-anti-abortion-march/|title=Thousands take part in Paris anti-abortion march|work=[[Euronews]]|date=19 January 2014|access-date=4 February 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071435/http://www.euronews.com/2014/01/19/thousands-take-part-in-paris-anti-abortion-march/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The 1920 abortion laws of France have not been entirely repealed leading to ambiguity in the nation's policies.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|date=1989|title=Abortion Debate|journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal|volume=299|issue=6703|pages=814–816|issn=0959-8138|jstor=29705487|pmid=11644419 |last1=Delamothe |first1=T. |pmc=1837698 }}</ref> By 1975, [[Simone Veil]], the minister for health, introduced legislation that specifically in cases of distress "tolerated" abortion up to ten weeks.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Gaudry|first1=D.|last2=Sadan|first2=G.|date=1989|title=France: late abortion|journal=Planned Parenthood in Europe = Planning Familial en Europe|volume=18|issue=1|pages=6–8|issn=1017-8538|pmid=12315825}}</ref> Abortions after this date are only cleared by the government if the pregnancy endangers the health of the woman or will result in the birth of a child with a severe and incurable disease.<ref name=":2" /> After twelve weeks, abortion, except for "therapeutic abortion, under the terms of Article 317 of the Criminal Code, is a crime, punishable by 6 months to 10 years in prison, a fine of between 1800 and 250,000 Francs, and loss of professional license."<ref name=":2" />
Catholics and right-wing political groups continue to protest abortion. The far-right party [[National Rally (France)|National Rally (formerly National Front)]], has attempted unsuccessfully to decrease funding for abortions.<ref name=":1" />
===Ireland=== {{Main|Abortion in the Republic of Ireland}} There are several major anti-abortion groups in the [[Republic of Ireland]], including [[Pro Life Campaign]], [[Youth Defence]] and the [[Iona Institute]]. The [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland]] (2018) provided for legal abortion in Ireland, but several anti-abortion parties still campaign, including [[Aontú]] and the [[National Party (Ireland, 2016)|National Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/557212/protest-rally-in-limerick-as-abortion-figures-are-revealed.html|title=Protest rally in Limerick as abortion figures are revealed|website=www.limerickleader.ie|date=10 July 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Quinn|first=David|date=2020-07-09|title=6,666 abortions in Ireland not treated as a big story|url=https://www.irishcatholic.com/6666-abortions-in-ireland-not-treated-as-a-big-story/|access-date=2021-08-13|website=The Irish Catholic|language=en-US}}</ref>
===Liechtenstein=== {{Main|Abortion in Liechtenstein}} In [[Liechtenstein]], an application to legalize abortions was rejected by a slim majority in [[Liechtenstein referendums, 2011|a referendum in 2011]]. The opponents, which included [[Prince Alois]], got 500 votes more and eventually settled at 52.3 percent compared with 47.7 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focus.de/politik/weitere-meldungen/abtreibung-in-liechtenstein-bleiben-abtreibungen-verboten_aid_666560.html |title=In Liechtenstein bleiben Abtreibungen verboten|work=FOCUS Online |publisher=[[Focus (German magazine)|Focus]] |date=18 September 2011 |access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref>
Prince Alois had announced the use of his veto in advance if necessary to prevent the introduction of abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zukunft-ch.ch/de/themen/werte_und_gesellschaft/?newsid=1270&offsetnews=180 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217192956/http://www.zukunft-ch.ch/de/themen/werte_und_gesellschaft/?newsid=1270&offsetnews=180 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 December 2014 |title=Radikal für das Leben!, 08 September 2012 |publisher=Zukunft CH |date=28 September 2012 |access-date=17 December 2014 }}</ref>
===Russia=== {{Main|Abortion in Russia}} Abortion is legal in Russia as an elective procedure up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in special circumstances at later stages.<ref name=law>{{Cite web|url=https://rg.ru/2011/11/23/zdorovie-dok.html|title=Федеральный закон "Об основах охраны здоровья граждан в Российской Федерации"|website=Российская газета}}</ref> The abortion issue gained renewed attention in 2011 in a debate that ''[[The New York Times]]'' says "has begun to sound like the debate in the [[abortion in the United States|United States]]".<ref name="NYT">Sophia Kishkovsky, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/world/europe/15iht-russia15.html Russia Enacts Law Opposing Abortion], ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref> Parliament passed and [[President of Russia|President]] [[Dmitri Medvedev]] signed several restrictions on abortion into law to combat "a falling birthrate" and "[[Demographics of Russia|plunging population]]".<ref name="NYT"/> The restrictions include requiring abortion providers to devote 10% of advertising costs to describing the dangers of abortion to a woman's health and make it illegal to describe abortion as a safe medical procedure. Medvedev's wife [[Svetlana Medvedeva]] has taken up the anti-abortion cause in Russia in a weeklong national campaign against abortion called "Give Me Life!" and a "Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness" by her Foundation for Social and Cultural Initiatives in conjunction with the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].<ref name="NYT"/>
===Spain=== {{Main|Abortion in Spain}} {{Outdated section|date=January 2019}} {{Expert needed|Spain|section|reason=Section is very outdated|date=January 2019}} In [[Spain]], over one million demonstrators took part in a march in [[Madrid]] in October 2009 to protest plans by the government of [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero|José Luis Zapatero]] to legalize elective abortions and eliminate parental consent restrictions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jkOSVB9MchL7LwqJLWOQ1YoiLHww |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304171408/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jkOSVB9MchL7LwqJLWOQ1YoiLHww |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2010 |title=''Agence France Presse'', 17 October 2009 |date=17 October 2009 |access-date=16 November 2011}}</ref>
===United Kingdom=== {{Main|Abortion in the United Kingdom}} {{Expand section|date=January 2019}} In the United Kingdom, the most prominent anti-abortion organization is the [[Society for the Protection of Unborn Children]]. It was formed at the time of the passage of the [[1967 Abortion Act]] which liberalized abortion law. The group campaigns against abortion, often using questionable claims,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/23/abortion-what-children-schools |title=Revealed: what children are being told about abortion |editor-last=Vasagar |editor-first=Jeevan |date=23 March 2012 |work=The Guardian |access-date=5 February 2019 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and supports protests at pregnancy clinics.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/13/anti-abortion-activism-clinic-vigil |title=Anti-abortion activism escalating, warns clinic targeted by vigil |last=Quinn |first=Ben |date=13 March 2012 |work=The Guardian |access-date=5 February 2019 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The Abortion Act of 1967 had a significant effect in Britain (excluding Northern Ireland). The Act states that if at least two doctors deem the reasons for abortion to be in alignment with the Act, it can legally be performed. This still means that the punishment for women who obtain abortions contrary to the Act are faced with potential life imprisonment. Doctors too can be prosecuted if they are found administering abortions without reasonable cause.<ref name=":0" /> The Abortion Act of 1967 did not apply in [[Northern Ireland]]. Women living there who sought abortions either had to travel to Britain to receive an abortion or potentially face criminal charges for purchasing abortion pills illegally.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britsoc.co.uk/about/latest-news/2018/may/anti-abortion-activism-in-britain/|title=Anti-Abortion Activism in Britain|last1=Low|first1=Pam|last2=Page|first2=Sarah-Jane|date=May 2018}}</ref>
To this day, anti-abortion activists routinely stand outside many abortion clinics; their goal is to discourage women from entering the clinics. This is through two processes, known as "prayer vigils", which are sometimes quiet and other times said aloud to actively dissuade; and "pavement counseling", where activists approach women entering clinics in order to persuade them to continue with their pregnancies. This is a practice held in low regard by many, as it causes anxiety and distress.<ref name=":0" />
==Middle East== ===Israel=== {{Main|Efrat (organization)}} {{Too few opinions|section|date=January 2019}} In [[Israel]], the major anti-abortion organization is [[Efrat (organization)|Efrat]].<ref name=efrat>{{cite web|url=http://www.friendsofefrat.org/about_pro.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117100350/http://www.friendsofefrat.org/about_pro.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2013 |title=Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life |publisher=Friendsofefrat.org |access-date=31 May 2015 }}</ref> Efrat activists primarily raise funds to relieve the "financial and [[social pressure]]s" on pregnant women so that they will not terminate their pregnancies. However, this activity is only carried out in the Jewish sector in Israeli society, as Efrat officially views abortion among Jews as a demographic threat to the Jewish people.<ref name=efrat2>{{cite web|url=http://www.friendsofefrat.org/about_how.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214214742/http://www.friendsofefrat.org/about_how.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 December 2012 |title=How Efrat Saves Lives |publisher=Friendsofefrat.org |access-date=24 December 2015 }}</ref>
==Americas== ===United States=== {{Main|United States anti-abortion movement}} {{Outdated section|date=July 2019}} In the 19th century United States, [[Anthony Comstock]] launched an 'anti-vice crusade' that included opposition to contraception and abortion. He successfully got the [[US Congress]] to pass laws later known as the [[Comstock laws]] that included provisions that made it illegal to send materials used for abortion through the mail.<ref> https://www.britannica.com/event/Comstock-Act, Encyclopedia Britannica, Comstock Act, retrieved August 24th 2023</ref> These laws have been referenced by modern anti-abortion campaigners in the US and cited in court cases to stop the mailing of abortion medication.<ref> https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/28/politics/comstock-act-abortion-ban-legal-fight/index.html, The 150-year-old chastity law that may be the next big fight over abortion, CNN, retrieved August 24th 2023</ref>
[[File:Anti-abortion protest, 1986.jpg|thumb|An anti-abortion protest outside an abortion clinic in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] in 1986]] The [[United States anti-abortion movement]] formed as a response to the landmark 1973 ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' and ''[[Doe v. Bolton]]'' [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] decisions with many [[List of anti-abortion organizations in the United States|anti-abortion organizations]] having emerged since then. There is also a smaller [[consistent life ethic]] movement, favoring a philosophy which opposes all forms of killing, including abortion, [[war]], [[euthanasia]], and [[capital punishment]].
The current movement is in part a continuation of previous debates on abortion that led to the practice being banned in all states by the late 19th century. The initial movement was led by [[physicians]], but also included politicians and [[feminists]]. Among physicians, advances in medical knowledge played a significant role in influencing anti-abortion opinion. [[Quickening]], which had previously been thought to be the point at which the soul entered a human, was discovered to be a relatively unimportant step in fetal development, causing many medical professionals to rethink their positions on early term abortions.<ref name="Mohr">{{cite book|title=Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/abortioninameric00jame|url-access=registration|author=James C. Mohr|year=1978|pages=[https://archive.org/details/abortioninameric00jame/page/35 35–36]|publisher=Oxford University Press/|isbn=978-0-19-502249-0 }}</ref> Ideologically, the [[Hippocratic Oath]] and the medical mentality of that age to defend the [[sanctity of life|value of human life]] as an absolute also played a significant role in molding opinions about abortion.<ref name="Mohr"/>
Meanwhile, many 19th-century feminists tended to regard abortion as an undesirable necessity forced upon women by thoughtless men.<ref>{{cite book|title=Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/abortioninameric00jame|url-access=registration|first=James C.|last=Mohr|year=1978|page=[https://archive.org/details/abortioninameric00jame/page/110 110]|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-502249-0 }}</ref> The "free love" wing of the feminist movement refused to advocate abortion and treated the practice as an example of the hideous extremes to which modern marriage was driving women.<ref name=Mohr112>{{cite book|title=Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/abortioninameric00jame|url-access=registration|author=James C. Mohr|year=1978|page=[https://archive.org/details/abortioninameric00jame/page/112 112]|publisher=Oxford University Press/|isbn=978-0-19-502249-0 }}</ref> [[Marital rape]] and the seduction of unmarried women were societal ills which feminists believed caused the need to abort, as men did not respect women's right to [[Sexual abstinence|abstinence]].<ref name=Mohr112/>
Anti-abortion groups like [[Students for Life of America]] and [[Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America]] are at times associated with conservatism.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Other groups, such as [[Focus on the Family]], are considered a part of the [[Christian right]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Løvdal Stephens |first=Hilde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oPTKDwAAQBAJ |title=Family Matters: James Dobson and Focus on the Family's Crusade for the Christian Home |date=2019 |publisher=[[University of Alabama]] |isbn=9780817320331 |pages=100 |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref> They call themselves "pro-life" because they are often united in their belief that a [[fetus]] is a person that has legal rights. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]], some of these organizations have turned their attention to banning abortions at the state and local level and asking the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize fetal personhood under the Constitution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Honderich |first1=Holly |title=She helped kill Roe v Wade - now she wants to end abortion in America |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65923956 |access-date=23 June 2023 |publisher=BBC |date=22 June 2023}}</ref>
=== Canada === {{Main|Abortion in Canada}} [[File:Anti-abortion truck. Vancouver. 2012.jpg|thumb|An anti-abortion advertisement on a truck in [[Vancouver]] in 2012]] A Conservative MP, [[Cathay Wagantall]], introduced a bill in 2020 seeking to ban abortions for the purpose of choosing a child's sex.<ref name="ctvnews">{{Cite news |title=Scheer appears to backtrack on commitment not to allow debate on abortion |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/scheer-appears-to-backtrack-on-commitment-not-to-allow-debate-on-abortion/ |first=Stephanie |last=Levitz |work=[[The Canadian Press]] |date=27 February 2020 |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref> Abortion in Canada is legal at all stages of pregnancy and funded in part by the [[Canada Health Act]].<ref name="StrachanPoloni-Staudinger2019">{{cite book|author1=J. Cherie Strachan|author2=Lori M. Poloni-Staudinger|author3=Shannon Jenkins|author4=Candice D. Ortbals|title=Why Don't Women Rule the World?: Understanding Women's Civic and Political Choices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCiHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|year=2019|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-5443-1727-4|page=115}}</ref> In 2013, the Conservative prime minister, [[Stephen Harper]], barred the members of Parliament from discussing the matter in the Commons. Harper's move was linked to his repeated declarations that he wouldn't allow the abortion debate to be re-opened.<ref name="ctvnews" /> Since the 1980s, at least forty-three private member bills that are against abortion have been sent to the House of Commons yet none of them have been passed.<ref name=":1" /> Canadian anti-abortion discourse increasingly "aims at changing cultural values more than legislation; is explicitly framed as 'pro-woman'; largely avoids appealing to religious grounds; and relies on a new 'abortion-harms-women' argument that has supplanted and transformed traditional fetal personhood arguments".<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Saurette|first1=Paul|last2=Gordon|first2=Kelly|date=2013|title=Arguing Abortion: The New Anti-Abortion Discourse in Canada|journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science|volume=46|issue=1|pages=157–185|issn=0008-4239|jstor=43298127|doi=10.1017/S0008423913000176|s2cid=154837478}}</ref>
Since 1998, Catholics and allies have held national anti-abortion March for Life rallies at [[Parliament Hill]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=2019-12-02|title=Civil rights league honours priest for 30-year pro-life protest on Parliament Hill|url=https://grandinmedia.ca/civil-rights-league-honours-priest-for-30-year-pro-life-protest-on-parliament-hill/|access-date=2021-06-13|website=Grandin Media|language=en-US}}</ref> Two have gathered over 10,000 protesters. In addition to the national protests, anti-abortionists protest abortion clinics across the nation in attempts to stop abortions from continuing.<ref name=":5" />
==Australia== {{Main|Abortion in Australia}} A number of anti-abortion organizations exist in [[Australia]], including Cherish Life, [[Right to Life Australia]], and [[Australian Christian Lobby]]. These organizations undertake various campaigning activities, including political campaign fundraising.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/margaret-tighe.-the-most-powerful-woman-in-victoria/|title=Margaret Tighe. The most powerful woman in Victoria|last=Allan|first=Lyle|date=30 November 2010|website=Tasmanian Times|language=en-AU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710044331/http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?%2Fweblog%2Farticle%2Fmargaret-tighe.-the-most-powerful-woman-in-victoria%2F|archive-date=10 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
A large portion of Australian law surrounding abortion was originally derived from the British law.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2008/09/30/abortion-laws-around-the-world/|title=Abortion Laws Around the World |work=Pew Research Center|date=30 September 2008|language=en-US|access-date=17 April 2019}}</ref> Until 1967, British law stated that "an induced abortion is unlawful in all situations save the (probable) exception of situations where it is necessary to save the life of the mother."<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Warhurst|first1=John|last2=Merrill|first2=Vance|date=1982|title=The Abortion Issue in Australia: Pressure Politics and Policy|journal=The Australian Quarterly|volume=54|issue=2|pages=119–135|doi=10.2307/20635163|issn=0005-0091|jstor=20635163}}</ref> Australia partook of this law until Britain changed it in 1967 towards a more liberal standpoint.<ref name=":4" />
All states and territories, except Western Australia, have laws prohibiting anti-abortion campaigners from harassing visitors and staff of abortion clinics by setting exclusion zones around abortion clinics.
==Religion== {{main|Religion and abortion}}
===Christianity===
====Evangelical Christianity==== In [[Evangelical Christianity]], international organizations like [[Focus on the Family]] are involved in the anti-abortion movement.<ref> Hilde Løvdal Stephens, ''Family Matters: James Dobson and Focus on the Family's Crusade for the Christian Home'', University of Alabama Press, USA, 2019, p. 100</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Politics}} * [[180 (2011 American film)|''180'' (2011 American film)]] * [[Anti-abortion violence]] * [[Crisis pregnancy center]] * [[Dublin Declaration on Maternal Healthcare]] * [[Fetal rights]] * [[Forced abortion]] * [[History of abortion law debate]] * [[Mildred Fay Jefferson]] (founder of National Right to Life PAC) * ''[[Unplanned]]'' (anti-abortion movie) * [[World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Human Life]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * [http://www.priestsforlife.org/plgroups/prolifegroups.html List of international anti-abortion organizations]
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[[Category:Anti-abortion movements| ]] [[Category:Abortion]] [[Category:Anti-rights movements]]