On this day 50 years ago…SPUC was founded

Today, , is 50 years since the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), was formally established at a meeting at the Wig and Pen Club, Strand, in London.

Two of the founding members are still stalwarts of the pro-life movement- Alan Smith, who continues to be a member of SPUC's Executive Committee, and Elspeth Chowdharay-Best (née Rhys-Williams), who is the honorary secretary of ALERT, a body which campaigns against euthanasia.

Distinguished founders

Amongst those elected to serve on the Society's first executive committee were Professor Ian Donald, who pioneered the use of diagnostic ultrasound in medicine, and Dr Aleck Bourne. Dr Bourne was involved in a landmark court case after performing an illegal abortion on a 14-year-old girl. However, he regretted his actions and became a founding member of the Society.

"We've got to stop abortion in our country"

John Smeaton, SPUC's chief executive, said today: "Over 8.7 million children are missing from Britain since the passing of the Abortion Act 1967. We've got to stop abortion in our country. The job of the pro-life movement in 2017 is to make the idea of stopping abortion in the UK completely normal. It is normal not to kill children."