One of the most striking things about working in the pro-life movement is how often we’re told our views are “extreme” or “out of touch.” Yet, when you actually ask people — when you listen to them, not the headlines — a different picture emerges. A more honest one. A more human one.
And now we have the numbers to prove it.
Just last week, I commissioned a comprehensive poll to understand what the British public really thinks about abortion. The results are powerful — and they confirm what many of us have long suspected:
Most people are more pro-life than they realise.
A Nation in the Dark
Start with this: Only 1 in 10 people correctly estimate that over 200,000 abortions take place each year in the UK. A third think it’s fewer than 50,000. That’s not just a statistical error — that’s a symptom of a culture that keeps the reality of abortion hidden in plain sight.
But here’s the twist: once people learn the truth, they respond. 41% say this number is too high and that we should be finding ways to reduce it. Among parents with children under 18, that figure climbs to 52%.
Let that sink in: A majority of British parents want fewer abortions. That’s not a fringe opinion — that’s the quiet conscience of the nation speaking up.
Lines That Shouldn’t Be Crossed
Despite how it’s framed in the media, support for unrestricted abortion is astonishingly rare. Just 5% support the idea of abortion being permitted at any stage of pregnancy.
When asked about developmental milestones in the womb — a heartbeat, the ability to feel pain, the beginning of sleep cycles — support for legal abortion plummets. Only 17% believe it should be permitted once a baby can feel pain. And once a baby is at the point of viability — capable of surviving outside the womb — only 16% still support abortion.
In other words: the more people know about unborn life, the more they instinctively recoil from its destruction.
Women Deserve Better Than This
Far from being a “settled” issue, abortion is increasingly recognised for the complex, painful reality it is — especially when it comes to abortion at home through pills-by-post. An overwhelming 86% of people agree that women prescribed abortion pills should be thoroughly informed about the trauma they might experience, including being alone when passing their baby.
Three out of four Britons say that abortion providers should be required to verify how far along a woman is before prescribing pills. The public is clearly ahead of the politicians on this: they want safety, accountability, and informed choice — not rushed decisions and medical neglect.
And yet we’re told that questioning any of this is an attack on “women’s rights.” That’s not feminism. That’s abandonment.
Crime, Coercion, and Common Sense
Perhaps most revealing of all are the views on decriminalisation. Despite loud calls from abortion lobbyists to remove all legal protections for the unborn, 62% of people say abortion should remain a criminal offence to protect both babies and vulnerable women. They understand that the law isn’t just about punishment — it’s about protection, especially for those who have no voice.
Even when it comes to so-called “grey areas,” the public remains thoughtful. Half of people agree that the law should still apply in cases where a woman takes abortion pills without knowing how far along she is. That’s not cruelty. That’s moral seriousness.
So What Does This Mean?
It means the caricature of the pro-life position — as some hardline religious crusade — is completely false. It means we don’t need to change minds so much as awaken them. The instincts are already there:
*Parents want fewer abortions.
*Most people want the law to protect viable babies.
*Women want better information and care, not pills in the post.
This is the real mainstream. It’s quiet. It’s compassionate. And it’s growing.
From Instinct to Action
We can no longer afford to let abortion campaigners speak for the British people. They don’t. They speak for a loud, well-funded minority.
The pro-life movement must now do what we do best: take ordinary people’s quiet convictions and turn them into cultural confidence. Into bold compassion. Into change.
The silent majority is not the problem. It’s the opportunity.
And we’re here to give them their voice back.
The Silent Majority: Why Most People Are More Pro-Life Than They Realise
