YOUNG, BRITISH & ANTI-ABORTION
20 November 2024
YOUNG, BRITISH & ANTI-ABORTION
The abortion rate in Britain is at the highest on record. While opposition to abortion remains a minority view – a recent British poll found nearly 90% of respondents saying they were pro-abortion – film-maker Poppy Jay wants to explore whether there is a new demographic galvanising the UK anti-abortion movement: Gen Z.
Abortion rights have recently been widely debated in the US, but is a new generation in the UK mounting a powerful pushback here too? In this 60 minute film for BBC One, Poppy meets the young British people leading anti-abortion campaigns, asking difficult questions and fighting to end access to abortion. Online, on campuses and on the streets, she finds a movement growing in confidence, profile and money.
To date, the film has won two national awards, and been nominated for a third.
Young, British and Anti-Abortion won the 2025 Sanford St Martin TV Award, which showcases excellence in content engaging with religion and belief.
The judges said the documentary was “Brave and innovative… A respectful yet challenging insight into those whose views we might not agree with, hearing from those who often don’t get a chance to be heard.“
Poppy Jay won Best Presenter at the 2025 Edinburgh TV Festival Awards for Young, British and Anti-Abortion.
In September 2025 the film received a third award nomination as Poppy Jay was nominated for Best Documentary Presenter at the prestigious Grierson Awards
Pick of the Day - The threat to women’s reproductive rights isn’t just an urgent issue in the US, as the brilliant Poppy Jay learns in this eye-opening documentary about the UK’s pro- life movement – specifically, the unexpected gen Z demographic. She is patient but pressing as she meets those involved.
The Guardian