How SPUC is helping pregnant students beat the cost-of-living crisis...

NEW YEAR Fundraising Appeal - Day 10

A huge “Thank You” to every single one of you who has contributed to SPUC’s New Year appeal this month.

An amazing £61,045.74 has been raised so far to protect unborn babies this year.

The money will fund a range of crucial activities which must be implemented immediately if we are to achieve our 4 Key Aims for 2024:

1. PREPARE for the big battle of 2024 – the GENERAL ELECTION. The Abortion Empire and their hangers-on are going to claim as many seats in Parliament as possible. This will allow them to pursue ABORTION DECRIMINALISATION and other PRO-DEATH POLICIES, which will lead to a tragic loss of innocent life.

2. DEFEND pro-life speech. How can we make abortion unthinkable if we are not allowed to talk about it? The pro-life movement is on the precipice between life and death here – and only SPUC is in a position to defend YOUR rights.

3. BLOCK efforts to introduce assisted suicide. International euthanasia activists are using the UK's devolved administrations as guinea pigs to push their deadly agenda across the whole country.

4. EXPAND pro-life outreach to the general public. SPUC's projects Heart to Heart and Project Truth must be scaled up and rolled out to the country ASAP. Winning hearts and minds - especially of the young - is a battle that we must win. As the avenues start to close due to woke cancel-culture, it's vital that we push forward now.

WE MUST RAISE ANOTHER £38,954.26 to get over the line to £100,000, to help secure these vital Campaigns + Projects.

If everyone reading this email who has yet to give to the appeal donates just £20 TODAY – we will be home and dry.

John Deighan, Chief Executive.

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Dear
SPUC supporter,
Last year, the government announced there had been a 17% rise in abortions.

The situation is indeed dire.

Official figures aren’t available yet, but one expert in the field estimates that 1-in-3 pregnancies in England and Wales were probably ended by abortion last year.

A few short years ago (2019), that ratio was 1-in-4.

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Few would disagree that financial pressures triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic are a significant contributory factor in the cost-of-living crisis many are experiencing today.
* Rising interest rates and high inflation are hurting many, including families where the mother is of child-bearing age.

The “two-child benefit cap” is another important factor.

In 2017, the Westminster government changed its policy affecting families with three or more children.

Covering new births from April of that year, the ‘‘two-child limit’’ restricted financial support to the first two children only.
* The loss of benefits was worth £2,900 per child per year.

The UK policy is thought to be amongst the most extreme anywhere in the world.

In Europe, only three other countries place a limit on child support – Spain, Romania and Cyprus.

In each of these cases, the limit is three or four children, not two.

The vast majority of European countries either pay benefits equally for all children or are more generous per child as family size increases.

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Even BPAS recognises the “two-child limit” is pushing up abortions

BPAS say that over half of the women it surveyed who had an abortion during the pandemic, and who were aware of the two-child limit and were likely to be affected by it, said the policy was “important in their decision-making around whether or not to continue the pregnancy.”

Some women told BPAS that the combination of economic and job insecurity triggered by the pandemic and the two-child limit effectively removed their choice over the pregnancy and pushed them into an abortion they would normally not have opted for in less financially straitened times.
* One mother said: “The two-child cap forces people into a corner of knowing they can’t provide versus abortion.

"Although I understand it is not the government's responsibility to be financially responsible for parents having children, I also felt that thanks to this rule, I was forced to make this decision."

* Another mother told BPAS: “If there was no two-child limit, I would have kept the baby, but I couldn’t afford to feed and clothe it… I’ve really struggled to come to terms with my decision.”

BPAS said that even prior to the pandemic, there was evidence that the two-child policy was affecting abortion rates.

They say there had been a disproportionately large increase in abortions by mothers with two or more existing children between 2016 and 2019:
* Two or more children = 16.4% rise
* No children = 10.3% rise
* One child = 7% rise.

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The Alma Mater Fund: Crisis pregnancy support for students in 2024

The pressure on young women students experiencing a crisis pregnancy at university – financial and otherwise – can be overwhelming.
* A survey by the National Union of Students puts the number of students dropping out of university who are single parents at 65% (2 in 3).

The Alma Mater Fund was set up by SPUC in 2019 to help students avoid abortion AND complete their studies.

The financial grants the Fund awards enable recipients to continue with their degree course through pregnancy and early parenthood.

The service began in Scotland before expanding into Northern Ireland.

Now, the Alma Mater Fund covers universities in England and Wales, too:
* To date, 37 students have received grants
* 15 have gone on to complete degrees so far.

In 2024, plans are in place to launch the Alma Mater Campus Outreach Project.
* This will enable student pro-life societies to promote the service on UK campuses for the first time.

In addition, this year, we intend to expand the service to include students from further education colleges, as well as universities.

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Here’s what some recipients had to say about The Alma Mater Fund:
"It gave me the strength needed to plan my path

"The Alma Mater Fund was extremely helpful, and the support offered really motivated me to go through with my university career.

"It is hard enough to balance studies on a regular basis, and while pregnant it might feel like the world is crushing you and you might want to give up.

"Finding out there is support out there for mothers that want to finish their academic journey gave me the strength needed to plan my path."
- Alexa

"The Alma Mater Fund is a huge support. Everyone is lovely and more than willing to help. Being a student and having a baby is a financial struggle. The grant will allow me to get my daughter the things she needs.

"If you are a student and get pregnant, there is help out there. At first I thought I would never manage, but having a baby is the best thing that's happened to me."
- Kaitlyn

But the growing demand for Alma Mater’s services can only be met by ordinary pro-life people up and down the country, like you.
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Essential requirements for its expansion this year include:
* A full-time support officer to liaise with applicants, manage the applications, research other support available, and promote the project on UK campuses – to ensure we’re reaching students in need.
* A part-time co-ordinator to oversee the initiative, make decisions about grants, and ensure The Alma Mater Fund’s sustainability for the future.
* Resources to provide larger grants for those with more significant needs.

Estimated running costs (excluding grants awards) for the next 12 months = £55,000

Will you give £10 or £20 or £35 or £50 or £100 or £250 or £500 or £1,000 or £5,000 or more to help pregnant students through the cost-of-living crisis?

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Thank you for standing in love and solidarity with young student mothers and their unborn babies in 2024.

Yours in Defence of Life
John Deighan
​Chief Executive
PS – With as many as 1-in-3 UK pregnancies being ended by abortion today, we have reached a crisis point.

Later this year, Britons will go to polls to elect the next government. Sitting MPs and the candidates keen to take their seats in the House of Commons will be more open to hearing from pro-life supporters than at any other time.

And it’s vital that they do because a change of heart towards the unborn is desperately needed in Parliament.

SPUC must raise £100k this month to fund its 2024 General Election campaign.

We must be ready to launch that campaign as soon as the Prime Minister calls the election, or an important opportunity to place the plight of babies at the top of the political agenda will be missed, and many babies will die.

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