The theme of the day was Human Rights for All Humans and that means both lives matter, in every pregnancy.

Speaking at the event, Carla Lockhart said:

“The most basic human right is the right to life. We cannot speak of human rights while denying this truth. Human rights belong to every human being mother and child together. Both lives matter.

I was brought up in a Christian home, a home where I was taught the sanctity and value of life and those values remain with me today and underpin my determination to be one of your strongest allies in Parliament.

But we have lost our way. In recent days, this Parliament has legislated for abortion up to birth and for assisted suicide. A Government and a Parliament that has sunk so low. It grieves me greatly, but while it grieves us, we also know this: there is a higher power. Truth is on our side. And right is on our side.

Behind every statistic is a story a woman, a child, a family. And that is why it grieves me when society offers women nothing but abortion in their time of need. I want to see a society that helps women to choose life, that wraps its arms around them, and that shows them they are not alone. Because in every pregnancy, both lives matter. The baby in the womb matters. The mother carrying that baby matters. And both deserve love, dignity, and protection.

We live in a culture full of contradictions. We protect endangered species, we campaign against single-use plastics, we fundraise for children’s hospitals, all worthy causes and yet the most vulnerable of all, the unborn, are denied even the right to be born. This cannot stand.

And while we march today in freedom, we must also recognise the growing attempts to silence pro-life voices. We saw this in Scotland, where even a grandmother was threatened with prosecution for silently holding a sign. Buffer zones criminalise the private thoughts of individuals something that should never happen in a free society.

William Wilberforce once faced a cause that seemed impossible. For years he was mocked, dismissed, told that change could not come. Yet through persistence, conviction, and faith, he saw the slave trade abolished. That same spirit must live in us today. The mountain may look steep, but with courage and persistence we too will see the day when every life is cherished, protected, and loved.

That is the task before us. To speak the truth in love. To support mothers in crisis. To defend the defenceless. To stand, even when it is unpopular, and to be unashamed in saying: both lives matter.”