Farage, Trump and abortion

Since the ’80s, the religious right has been growing in influence in US politics and working to overturn Roe v. Wade, the legislation that assures women access to abortion. From fear-mongering claims that abortion is more dangerous than childbirth to arguments over the width of corridors in abortion clinics, the US anti-abortion right was, of course, successful.

So when Nigel Farage argues that a debate on abortion limits is needed, he is taking advice from the numerous Americans he hangs out with when he’s not in his Clacton constituency.

In the UK, abortion has been in the news more over the past year due to the politicians and activists campaigning for it to be decriminalised. Abortion is still technically a criminal offence in England and Wales under the 1861 Offences Against the Persons Act – and rather than calling for a debate to enshrine the right to choose, Farage believes we need to look at lowering the time limit.

Young, British and Anti-abortion, a recent documentary produced by the BBC, examines the different parts of the growing abortion movement led by young and secular groups. It reminded me of the extent to which anti-abortion movement in the country has grown.

American organisations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom have, in recent years, sought to stir up the issue in Britain. The group, which has been called a hate group, has ramped up lobbying efforts in the UK.

We do not have the same level of evangelical christianity as the US. Politicians in the UK who make a show of their faith are often unpopular, but these culture war arguments are being refitted and styled just for more secular and subtle British ears.

Paul Marshall, owner of GB News and Unherd and now the Tory bible, The Spectator is well known for his Christian affiliations. In 2012, Marshall bailed out Michael Gove’s scheme to put a bible in every state school. That was during the height of Tory austerity – at the time, schools had other priorities.

Marshall’s media empire has been responsible for importing American-style culture wars to the UK. GB News is the most glaring example: when its presenters rail against the National Trust for talking about slavery, and give airtime to people complaining about the buffer zones outside abortion clinics in Glasgow.

Ignoring Farage and his fellow culture warriors has done little to stop him. What’s more, a failure to get to grips with the growing anti-abortion movement in this country does nothing but allow it to continue to thrive.

So why is Farage bringing it up when he has rarely so openly discussed abortion in the past? Well, simply – it works. He knows that, much like his inflammatory rhetoric around immigrants. It brings him airtime, which means more people listen both to him and to members of his party.

It is, in other words, an effective PR strategy. Lee Anderson comparing the Battle of the Somme (a battle that took place fifty years before his birth) to the struggles of women’s health is ridiculous. But it grabs attention, gets headlines and demonstrates how dismissive of women those men really are.

It is not surprising that abortion is the new battleground for the British right, as it reflects a broader clampdown on reproductive rights across Europe.

In Italy, doctors are allowed to be “conscientious objectors” even if a woman’s life is in danger. This year, a law was passed allowing anti-abortion activists to enter clinics to “advise” patients on their options, which has been used as an opportunity to harass women.

Poland’s abortion law, which only allows abortion in the case of a criminal act, is among the most restrictive in the EU, and is similar to Malta’s law which saw abortion made legal this year but only if a life is at risk. While France may have enshrined the right to abortion in the constitution, there is no space for complacency.

This constant trend of lawmakers requiring a woman’s life to be in danger or harm having happened to a person before they can have bodily autonomy signals a troubling rollback of progress. I am not naive enough to believe people will ever agree on abortion – but keeping it legal and safe is far more beneficial than causing the unnecessary deaths of women or forcing people into parenthood. Even worse, restricting abortion increases the possibility of women dying from unsafe methods to end their pregnancies.

A woman’s autonomy should not be decided by the whim of male politicians who are looking for a culture war “wedge” issue. Farage’s willingness to use abortion in precisely this way shows how far he wishes to go with the issue, just as he has previously exploited the issues of migrants and refugees in his quest for power. His political idol, Donald Trump, did the same thing. We must hope the same US strategy will not work over here.