Anti-abortion campaigners are running as independent candidates in the general election against prominent MPs seeking re-election who supported decriminalisation. The seats of Labour’s Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy and Conservative Caroline Nokes are all being targeted by anti-abortion activists. The three proposed or supported recent amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill which would have stopped prosecutions for anyone ending a pregnancy in England and Wales.
The vote was described by abortion provider British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS) as “the biggest on abortion rights in a generation”, but it never went ahead as the general election was called and parliament was dissolved. Creasy is being challenged in Walthamstow by Ruth Rawlins from the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform UK (CBRUK), a group which also launched a #StopStella campaign in 2019 after the MP successfully led a vote for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. At the time, Creasy said she had contacted police after being targeted by anti-abortion protesters in her constituency.
Creasy told the Observer she would want a police presence at local hustings if Rawlins were to participate. “In a democracy, candidates must be able to put themselves forward for office and for scrutiny without fear of harm. That principle covers us all, and I have made it clear to hustings organisers that I am happy to participate alongside those who hold anti-abortion views,” she said.
“It’s sad but necessary, given the.
