Britain’s Abortion Epidemic: A Christian Conservative Perspective on Record-High Terminations and the Path to Restoration, By Mrs. Brittany Miller (London)

We British conservatives grapple with a profound moral crisis; the latest figures from England and Wales should alarm every Christian conservative. Kara Kennedy's January 30, 2026, piece in The Free Press lays bare a devastating reality: abortions in England and Wales have reached their highest level since the 1967 Abortion Act legalised the procedure, with nearly one in three pregnancies now ending in termination. Official 2023 data shows 277,970 abortions — an 11% jump from 2022 — and the age-standardised rate hit a record 23.0 per 1,000 women aged 15–44. Estimates suggest the UK total approaches or exceeds 300,000 annually when including Scotland and Northern Ireland, amid a collapsing birth rate.

From a Christian conservative, pro-life viewpoint, this is not merely a healthcare or economic statistic. It represents a national tragedy: the systematic destruction of innocent unborn lives, enabled by a secular culture that has rejected God's design for human flourishing. Scripture is unambiguous: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5) and "You knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13). Every abortion ends a unique life created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). The normalisation Kennedy describes — turning abortion into a convenient "just in case" medication delivered to the door — reveals a deeper spiritual rot.

Why is This Occurring? Moral Decay, Cultural Lies, and Policy Failures

Kennedy's reporting challenges simplistic narratives of poverty or coercion as primary drivers. Instead, interviews with women and insights from former abortion providers highlight three interconnected factors:

1.Normalisation and Dehumanising Accessibility — Post-2020 reforms (accelerated during COVID) made medical abortions (pills-by-post) dominant: 87% medical, 72% taken entirely at home. What was once a serious clinical procedure is now routine, private, and destigmatised — "kept just in case." This removes natural barriers and moral reflection. In a post-Christian society, life is reduced to a choice rather than a sacred gift. Without the Church's prophetic voice, abortion becomes just another "healthcare" option.

2.Risk Aversion and the Cult of Self-Perfection — Modern British women (and Western women broadly) increasingly feel "too imperfect to become mothers." Motherhood's uncertainties — career disruption, financial strain, emotional demands — clash with a culture prizing autonomy, perfectionism, and instant gratification. Feminism's promise of "having it all" has instead fostered fear of children as burdens. Hookup culture, widespread contraception failure, and delayed marriage exacerbate unintended pregnancies. Rather than embracing sacrificial love (as modelled in Christ's self-giving), society offers death as the "easier" path.

3.Broader Societal and Policy Rot — Secularism has eroded biblical family values. Britain's low marriage rates, high divorce, welfare dependency, and cost-of-living pressures (often cited by pro-abortion advocates) are symptoms of rejecting God's order. A bloated welfare state disincentivises responsibility while the sexual revolution promotes promiscuity. Economic anxiety is real, but it's compounded by a culture that devalues motherhood and fatherhood. The Church's retreat from public life has left a vacuum filled by death-affirming ideologies.

Pro-abortion groups frame this as "autonomy and access," but from a biblical lens, it's a culture of death triumphing over life (Deuteronomy 30:19). Nearly half of abortions involve women who already have children, revealing repeated cycles of regret rather than liberation.

What Can Be Done? A Pro-Life Christian Conservative Agenda for Britain (and Lessons for Australia)

Reversing this requires repentance, courage, and multifaceted action — not just laws, but hearts and culture transformed by the Gospel.

1. Legal and Policy Reforms

Restrict and regulate: Repeal or heavily amend the 1967 Act. Introduce meaningful gestational limits (e.g., heartbeat bills or 12–15 weeks), mandatory waiting periods, ultrasound viewing, and full informed consent about foetal development and risks. End pills-by-post "telemedicine" abortions — require in-person consultations.

Parental involvement and conscience protections for medical staff.

Support families: Generous tax credits, affordable childcare, housing incentives for young families, and paternity leave that encourages fathers' involvement. Australia's family policies offer some models worth refining through a pro-life lens.

2. Cultural and Educational Renewal

Promote chastity, marriage, and family: Sex education must emphasise abstinence before marriage, fidelity within it, and the joy of children. Counter feminist and secular narratives in schools and media that portray motherhood as oppressive.

Defund and expose the abortion industry: Redirect public funds from providers like BPAS and MSI to life-affirming alternatives.

3. Church and Community Action

Crisis pregnancy support: Expand pro-life centres offering free ultrasounds, counselling, material aid, adoption services, and post-abortion healing (many women suffer regret, depression, and spiritual trauma).

Bold preaching: Pastors must unashamedly teach the sanctity of life from the pulpit and engage politically without fear. Revival starts with repentance.

Foster adoption and mentorship: Churches should champion adoption as a beautiful alternative and support single mothers/fathers.

4. Personal and Spiritual Responsibility Individuals: Choose life in your own sphere. Men, step up as protectors and providers. Women, embrace God's calling to motherhood where possible. All: Pray fervently for national repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14). Support pro-life organisations, vote for life-affirming candidates, and speak truth compassionately.

Hope Amid the Darkness

Britain's 1-in-3 abortion ratio signals a civilisation in decline — low births, ageing population, spiritual void. Yet history shows nations can turn: America's pro-life movement has saved millions through incremental laws, hearts changed by ultrasound technology, and persistent witness. Australia has its own battles (late-term abortions in some states, RU-486 access), so you must learn from Britain's warning.

The ultimate answer is Jesus Christ — the author of life — who offers forgiveness, healing, and new beginnings to every woman who has aborted, every man who pressured it, and every society steeped in bloodguilt. "Choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). Britain (and the West) must choose life again — legally, culturally, spiritually.

For Aussies, this is a clarion call: Protect the unborn there, strengthen families, and resist the same secular tide. Let's pray, advocate, and live out the Gospel that values every life!

https://www.thefp.com/p/why-are-so-many-british-women-getting-69e