What is Both Lives?
In 2017, a new conversation on abortion began to take shape in Northern Ireland. What started as a campaign co-founded by the Evangelical Alliance has since grown into a UK-wide initiative with a clear and hopeful message: both lives matter. Today, Both Lives is a collaborative movement bringing together individuals and organisations from diverse social, political, and religious backgrounds to champion a vision of progress that honours both women and their unborn children.
A snapshot of what we’ve been up to in 2025
2025 has been a full and purposeful year. Across the UK, we have met with local representatives at multiple levels of government (including submitting evidence to the Scottish Government’s ongoing abortion law review). We shared what a society that values both lives looks like and how legislation and policy can shape this vision to become a reality.
This advocacy is not abstract. It flows from the truth that every human life, pre and post birth, carries God-given dignity and inherent worth. In talks, seminars and sermons in churches and gatherings across the UK, we have explored this truth through God’s own unborn story: Jesus entering humanity as a microscopic embryo in His mother’s womb.
From doctors and lawyers to parents and politicians, on podcasts, at marches such as the March for Life and across the media, we’ve had significant conversations about what it means to truly value both lives. We have had the privilege of being entrusted with telling deeply personal stories of loss, life and hope. These testimonies shape how we engage on this issue, reminding us that behind every statistic, there are real people in real circumstances.
Both Lives UK lead, Dawn McAvoy has continued to chair the CPCR (Churches and Pregnancy Crisis Roundtable) steering group, meeting twice a year in London, with a satellite event in Belfast. The CPCR events have expanded to become a space for dozens of church leaders and service providers to share practical ideas and resources, equipping leaders to respond with compassion to those impacted by pregnancy crisis and abortion.
We also took on the leadership of the National Day of Prayer for Life on 27 October. Churches and individuals across the UK stood together in truth, compassion and hope, bringing this issue before God in prayer.
What’s new?
In September, we launched our Both Lives Podcast. This podcast shifts the conversation from the binary of pro-life versus pro-choice to a collaborative, positive conversation seeking the wellbeing of both women and their unborn children.
Our expert guests come from the worlds of medicine, law, frontline services and theology to explore the big questions around motherhood, pregnancy and the cultural narrative around abortion. As host of the podcast, Dawn McAvoy explains: “At the heart of the Both Lives Podcast is a belief in the God-given dignity of every human life. We want to tell a more loving, hopeful story – one where the lives of both women and their unborn children are valued during and after pregnancy.”
Advocating for both lives in today’s cultural landscape comes with significant challenges. Abortion raises complex questions about women’s rights, bodily autonomy, care for the vulnerable, freedom and equality, justice and compassion. We are not indifferent or blind to tragedy and we recognise the distressing situations some women find themselves in and the difficult decisions they make.
We know that there is a better story for both lives in pregnancy and so we will continue to imagine and work towards building a society that values the life and health of women and unborn children and pursues the wellbeing of both.
"This podcast shifts the conversation from the binary of pro-life versus pro-choice to a collaborative, positive conversation seeking the wellbeing of both women and their unborn children."
Looking ahead
As 2025 draws to a close and we enter into 2026, we are so thankful for the opportunities that we’ve had to present a better a way of engaging on this vital topic – one that is marked by clarity and compassion, conviction and kindness. January marks two years since our relaunch as Both Lives (formerly known as Both Lives Matter). For us, Both Lives has always been more than a campaign; it is an invitation to imagine and work toward a future where women and children are not pitted against each other, but are celebrated, supported and given the chance to thrive together.
Get involved:
- Pray: Ask God for wisdom, courage and creativity as we try to build a culture that recognises the inherent value of life, pre and post birth.
- Be equipped: Our podcast and resources are designed to help you to have meaningful conversations on this complex and sensitive issue.
- Connect: Invite us to speak at your church or gathering, sign up for our monthly newsletter, and engage with us on social media.
The Both Lives Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and at: bothlives.co.uk along with a wide range of our resources including our God Unborn series and more.
"We know that there is a better story for both lives in pregnancy and so we will continue to imagine and work towards building a society that values the life and health of women and unborn children and pursues the wellbeing of both."
