Press Release: Abortion Rights Warns That “Stop Gendercide” Campaign Recycles Discredited, Racialised Claims

Abortion Rights Warns That “Stop Gendercide” Campaign Recycles Discredited, Racialised Claims

London, UK — 24 November 2025— Abortion Rights, Britain’s national pro-choice campaign, today criticised the “Stop Gendercide” initiative for promoting racially-charged and misleading narratives that risk stigmatising minority women and undermining reproductive rights.

The organisation stressed that there is no credible evidence that sex-selective abortion is taking place at scale in the UK. Despite this, the campaign continues to frame the issue as one associated with specific minority ethnic communities — a pattern that experts, advocates, and researchers have repeatedly warned against.

Debunked in 2015 — resurfacing in 2025

Abortion Rights emphasised that these claims are not new. The same allegations were raised in 2015, when then-MP Fiona Bruce attempted to amend abortion law to explicitly ban sex-selective abortion.

At that time:

The Department of Health found no evidence of skewed sex ratios.
Leading medical bodies rejected the claims as unfounded.
Women’s rights organisations warned that the proposals risked encouraging racial profiling.
Parliament ultimately defeated Bruce’s amendment on the basis that it was unsupported by evidence and would harm minority women.

“We’ve been here before,” said Kerry Abel, Chair of Abortion Rights. “In 2015, we showed clearly that these claims were not backed by evidence. Fiona Bruce’s proposal was rejected because it relied on fear-mongering and racialised assumptions. It is deeply concerning that a decade later, the same discredited narrative is being recycled.”

A threat to women’s autonomy

Abortion Rights warns that legislative attempts tied to the current campaign could introduce motive-checking into healthcare — forcing clinicians to question women about their reasons for seeking an abortion.

“Women must never be interrogated about why they are accessing essential healthcare and information about their pregnancy,” Abel continued. “Embedding suspicion into the process disproportionately harms minority women and risks pushing vulnerable people away from safe services. Safeguarding must be evidence-based — not rooted in racial profiling.”

Some opponents have tried to frame their position as “standing up for women’s rights” by promoting the myth that sex-selective abortion is taking place in Britain and leading to fewer girls being born. Abortion Rights firmly rejects this narrative. Any proposal that could force a woman to continue an unwanted pregnancy is not a defence of women’s rights — it is an attack on them.

Call to action

Abortion Rights is urging policymakers to: