To think the tactics of CBR UK are disgusting? Trigger warning - pro life.

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

I've been seething since Saturday when I encountered the organisation CBR UK on one of the busiest parts of our town centre.

CBR UK are a fundamental pro-life organisation claiming to have the interests of women traumatised by abortion at heart. Actually their roots are in the US and are underpinned by fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

Their way of educating and supporting women is to display 6 x 8 feet technicolor pictures of the aftermath of abortion in full view of women and children to get their point across.

A look at their Facebook page will prove to you I am not making this up. They place a warning sign ahead if the images, and also warn that they live film their activities, but it's obviously lip service.

They hand out leaflets and try to engage people

I challenged one of the very smug beatific older woman and suggested they must really hate women, but no, it's because they love and want to protect us apparently. And "God" - which slipped out as I took my leave and she called out God bless you. To which I responded how dare you bring God into this - and her parry was - why do you hate him that much?

Anyway, I'm posting this to make you aware that you might come up against this while doing your Christmas shopping.

Whatever your views on abortion, (Mine are pro choice and pro it's noone else's Goddamn business except a woman and her doctor) can we agree that this kind of "awareness raising" is almost psychological terrorism and should not be on our high streets in such graphic forms?

Women who have been rated, suffered traumatic medical miscarriages and are possibly accompanied by curious children don't need this shit rubbed in their faces while doing their Christmas shopping - or at any time.

AIBU?

It can't experience harm. If it's aborted, it does not know it is dying, feels no pain and has no thoughts.
There's nothing the least bit arbitrary or subjective about it. The science on this is clear. Before around 24 weeks, a fetus cannot possibly experience harm. It takes even longer for full consciousness to develop, around 30 weeks. That late in pregnancy abortions are only done to save the life of the mother.

My criteria for personhood is probably the same as yours, if you were to be honest about it. It's the aforementioned consciousness, the ability to think and to feel, to be an individual. If I lose the capacity for that I'm no longer a person. That's why, if I ever have an accident and there is brain death, my family can have life support terminated. Do you feel the same way about terminating brain dead patients as you do about abortion? I'm guessing you don't, in which case, you define personhood that way yourself, as do other forced birthers. So objection to abortion is really about controlling women's lives, pushing your religious views on others, and punishing women for their sexuality, not about concern for the fetus. You may not know it is and would insist it isn't, but you'd be lying to yourself.

Agree. They are so narcissistic that they demand their personal (usually religious) point of view be enforced by law.
That's sick, deranged thinking.

They think a fetus should be in a special class where it has rights which supercede the rights of a woman. It tells you exactly what they think of women and reveals that their true agenda has nothing to do with concern for the "poor little unborn babies." It's just a wedge they use to turn back the clock for women and force their religious views on others.

So sorry to hear what you've been through.

Anyone watching this abortion doc on BBC One?

Fundamentalist Christian groups fund this shit worldwide. They’ve just been caught astroturfing over the upcoming U.K. legalisation of euthanasia vote.

Not really. My MIL had 2 abortions, which she regrets deeply, even though she went on to have several more children. If anything, having children can be salt in the wound for abortion regret because you experience firsthand what it is to love a child.

Oh I forgot! Is it any good?

The documentary was pretty good. It got across that religion is behind most of those trying to get the Abortion Act overturned, even when they try to claim their stance is secular and rooted in the human rights of the fetus.

CBR UK's spokesboy seemed like a nervous whippet and it slipped out that some of his / their motivation is their opposition to the idea of women enjoying consequence free sex. Because God, naturally.

What does scare me is the smugness of the TikTok campaigners, with their colour themed placards, dreaming of a Utopia where abortion is illegal because it isn't necessary. Well they're putting the cart before the horse obviously, as they want to make abortion illegal right now, ignoring that the complex factors that make women have abortions, including medical reasons aren't ever going to be completely solved. They want it to be absolute, which ultimately means it's OK for women to die from ectopic pregnancies, or to kill themselves because carrying a rapists baby to term is too much to bear. Or for little girls abused by their fathers to give birth to the fruit of incest (love to see the Biblical view on that one)....

It means the sale of wire coat hangers will go up again. It means desperate pregnant women will find themselves in the hands of butchers and possibly fetishists.

There is no end to this horror really. The 1967 Abortion Bill should be protected at all costs. Women's lives depend on it.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/nov/20/young-british-and-anti-abortion-review-surely-gen-z-are-too-smart-to-devalue-womens-lives-like-this

A neat review from the Guardian that pretty much sums it up nicely.

No this was Bournemouth. I'm trying to ensure it never happens again.

Just bumping as I'm interested in discussing the documentary if anyone else saw it xxx

Thanks for flagging that, I will watch it later.

Further investigation into CBR UK reveals several news articles that show they are quite invested in the idea that abortion = Satanic conspiracy.

I really hope they gain no traction in trying to get the 1967 Abortion Act repealed.

Talk about the bloody Dark Ages.

Pfft.

Abortion is the one issue I will get arrested to protect. If the forced birthers try it, I'll be out there.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/12/britain-abortion-right-decriminalisation-law

Thought I'd bump this thread in the light of this new article today for those interested and concerned.

On some other threads about broader issues and parties like Reform, people have been quick to scoff at the idea that mission creep from fundamentalists in the US could possibly affect abortion laws in the UK. But it could well be a boiling frog scenario.

I just looked on their website. It's has some very upsetting stuff! I wish I hadn't! They definitely shouldn't be brandishing that stuff about in public

I am a Catholic but I still believe it is a woman's right to choose.

However, I really wish women and men took more precautions when having sex.

I very much believe in family planning. It is 2025 there are lots of forms of contraception available. If you are not ready to start a family make sure you both use something.

. I tell my DD to make sure she is protected and that the chap must wear a condom.

I tell my DS to make sure he uses a condom and not to rely on a woman taking precautions.

I worked with very disadvantaged families. Many with children who are disabled. They of have to sacrifice a great deal to look after them. I don't see the prolifers rushing to help these families.

I don't think I could have had an abortion. An early miscarriage was bad enough.

I wouldn't judge a woman for their choice. I hope I would be a non judgemental support to someone who has to make a very difficult choice either way.

I know three people who did exactly what you recommend and doubled up on contraception.

They still had an unplanned pregnancy. You can take all the precautions in the world and still get pregnant because there is no such thing as 100% infallible contraception. Only a vasectomy or sterilisation with full and correct followup will achieve that, and we still live in a world where women are routinely denied sterilisation 'in case they change their minds', because obviously the little woman can't be trusted to make that decision.

These are the people who will be making policy if Reform ever get in.