Why SPUC’s new Heart-to-Heart project is one answer to unjust “buffer zone” censorship laws

AUTUMN APPEAL

Dear SPUC supporter,

Earlier this week, I wrote to you about the massive growth in chemical pill abortions in the UK.

Over a period of 20 years, there has been a five-fold increase in chemical abortions in England and Wales, where they now account for 86% of all abortions (the remainder being surgical abortions).
83.7% rise in chemical pill abortion =
30.03% rise in abortions overall
Correlation between the rise in chemical abortion pill use and abortions overall (England & Wales) in the past 20 years:

I explained how the pills-by-post scheme (where women can obtain abortion pills without being seen in person by a doctor) has led to a sharp rise in UK abortions.

Before ‘at-home’ abortions were first permitted in 2017, there were 202, 469 recorded abortions.
* Five years later (2022), UK abortions had increased by 32% to a projected 267,980

* In addition, 4,136 abortions took place in Northern Ireland from March 2020 to October 2022, giving a grim total of 272,000 unborn babies killed.

The GRAPH below shows how the shift from surgical to ‘at home’ chemical pill abortions has led to a huge jump in UK abortions:
The push for ‘home abortions’ began with the Scottish Government in 2017. SPUC launched a legal challenge to block it. Despite the courts siding with the Scottish government, SPUC’s legal intervention delayed the implementation of the scheme in Scotland, England and Wales, preventing the deaths of an estimated 17,000 unborn children.

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But one consequence of the growth in the pills-by-post scheme is that the majority of women no longer go to clinics for abortions.

New “buffer zone” censorship laws passed in Northern Ireland and England (with a bill in Scotland set to be debated at Holyrood soon) also now make it a criminal offence to offer pro-life alternatives to women in the vicinity of abortion facilities.

This highlights the importance of warning women about the harm that abortion does in public places other than clinics.

Raising the alarm is especially important when it comes to warning women about the dangers inherent in abortion pills-by-post schemes.

Pills-by-post scheme has an appalling safety record:

Even the pro-abortion World Health Organisation (WHO) defines abortion as being “unsafe” when conducted by “persons lacking the necessary skills” or in an “environment lacking minimal medical standards”:
* A UK study revealed that a staggering 1 in 17 (10,000) women who used the pills-by-post scheme in 2020 required some form of hospital treatment
* 2.3% of them were treated for haemorrhage (heavy blood loss).

So, how else can we communicate our life-saving message to women and girls?

Heart-to-Heart Project: saving lives one conversation at a time
We will soon be launching a NEW SPUC project which aims to take the pro-life message to the streets of Britain and bypass draconian government censorship laws.

The inspiration for the Heart-to-Heart project comes from SPUC’s award-winning Project Truth campaign, the UK’s largest pro-life youth outreach initiative.
Each summer, the Project Truth roadshow visits towns and cities across Britain.

The team’s aim is simple: engage in conversations with members of the public about abortion.

Each event provides unique opportunities to:
* Discuss the humanity of the unborn baby
* Conduct surveys
* Collect petition signatures
* Provide FACTUAL information about the impact of abortion on women
* Issue crisis pregnancy helpline numbers.

Each week the roadshow engages with around 2,000 people, producing 200 hours of pro-life dialogue.

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The Heart-to-Heart project will differ from Project Truth in that it will operate ALL YEAR round, be open to pro-lifers of ALL ages and we anticipate it reaching even MORE members of the public.

SPUC’s branch network is growing, with 14 new branches being formed over the past 2 years.

We now have 56 branches in total, extending from North Cornwall in the west of England to Dundee in Scotland.

Branches serve as the backbone of SPUC’s grassroots campaign, organising events and outreach activities within their communities.

Implementing the Heart-to-Heart project in their area will be a top priority for SPUC branches.

Branches are being tasked with seeking out opportunities to speak one-on-one with members of the public at churches, on the streets and at public events.

An investment in staff time and money is needed to make the Heart-to-Heart event happen. Each event will require:
* Registration with the local authorities and permits for participants
* Educational Resources: branches (and activists where none exist) must be adequately briefed with all the relevant facts and statistics so they are able to refute commonly held pro-abortion arguments.

SPUC produce flyers, like this, to raise awareness of abortion coercion and help women resist pressures to abort.
This entails carrying out detailed research and involves the professional design and printing of briefing packs and pro-life information leaflets to hand to the public.

Estimated cost: £3,500
* Training: will be needed to ensure that the pro-life message is sensitively and confidently promoted when speaking with members of the public and the media.

This will involve employing the services of a professional media consultant to deliver guidance so that team members can confidently handle the different scenarios that they may face during the course of an event or when speaking with journalists.
Estimated Cost: £5,500
* Online Outreach: We want to encourage others to join the pro-life movement and social media presents an opportunity to showcase Heart to Heart events and to encourage others to get involved and run their own events in different parts of the country.

SPUC’s social media team now generates close to 1.5 million screen view impressions on X (formerly Twitter), making it an ideal platform for reaching a wider audience.
* Team Workshops: Frontline pro-life activism can be tough and building camaraderie is essential. Regular Heart-to-Heart workshops will enable team members to share experiences with their fellow profilers and learn what approaches are working for the best.

Zoom meetings will provide a cost-efficient and convenient online forum for teams to feedback on event outcomes to SPUC HQ and keep in touch with staff.

However, regular regional face-to-face meetings for building team spirit and optimising the learning experience will be crucial, so sundry expenses and travel costs for these must be covered too.

Estimated cost: £3,000
* Equipment & Literature: Each branch will be supplied with a weatherproof gazebo which can easily be moved from one place to another and where the public can sign petitions, take our leaflets and discuss abortion with team members.

We would also like to provide branches with branded merchandise, including tee shirts.

Estimated cost: £12,000

Will you consider giving £10 or £30 or £50 or £100 or £500 or £1000 or more to help fund SPUC’s Heart to Heart events and help take the prolife message to the streets of Britain?

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These are proving to be very challenging times for SPUC.

Not only are we contending with the cost-of-living crisis and paying our staff a fair wage, but we find ourselves fighting for unborn children and their mothers on MULTIPLE fronts (see below) this autumn, and this is placing a heavy financial strain on SPUC’s budget.

As well as the new Heart-to-Heart project, we must find the money to facilitate:
1. Justice for Baby Lily campaign

This SPUC campaign aims to end the UK’s Pills-by-post scheme. We intend to do this by showing that such schemes are behind a record rise in abortions overall, and are resulting in the hospitalisation of thousands of women each year.

In addition, high-profile late-term abortion prosecutions associated with the scheme are being cynically exploited by our opponents to press for the scrapping of the few remaining laws which protect unborn children in this country.

2. Northern Ireland court battle

SPUC is appealing a ruling by the Belfast High Court which sanctions the implementation of the United Nations CEDAW Recommendations. These include an abortion framework that would facilitate the killing of 6,500 unborn babies in the Province annually.

3. “Lydia” legal action

SPUC is providing financial backing for “Lydia” to seek legal redress from her abortion provider through the courts. (Lydia alleges being coerced into aborting her unborn baby at 7 months gestation).

Thank you for your vital support.

Yours in the Defence of Life,
PS – Bans on offering eleventh-hour help to vulnerable women at abortion facilities – many of whom face pressure to undergo abortions they do NOT want – have cut off a literal lifeline for babies.

With an estimated record 272,000 abortions taking place now in Britain each year, opening up NEW opportunities to speak to women one-on-one is vital.

We need to make a start on the 270,000-odd conversations that need to take place in order to stop the slaughter.

That’s why I urge you to consider sending a donation today if you can, to grow SPUC’s branch and activist network and make our public outreach (including the Heart-to-Heart campaign) a success.
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PPS - Click on this 30-second video to get a glimpse of how the Project Truth model operates.

The Heart-to-Heart project will adopt the same conversational approach, raising awareness of the great injustice of abortion in our country and letting the public know that help is always on hand from the pro-life side.

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