LIFE is the largest pro-life enterprise in the UK and probably the most comprehensive and ambitious in the world because it combines advocacy and education work with a nationwide care service. We are a pro-life charity that supports anyone facing a crisis pregnancy, pregnancy loss or after an abortion. We strive to engage, inspire and inform the next generation to value all human life from beginning to natural end.

We do this through our three core services:

• LIFE Care consists of a network of Care Centres across the UK, a national Helpline and a text-to-talk service, offering non-directive counselling and support for anyone facing a crisis pregnancy, suffering the loss of a baby or coping after abortion. We also provide free baby clothes, equipment and other practical support to women and families in difficulty.

• LIFE Housing is one of the largest providers of accommodation for pregnant women and unsupported mothers aged between 16-25 years in the UK. Our comprehensive service offers a real, practical alternative to abortion and prepares tenants for independent living with their children in the future.

• LIFE Education works in partnership with schools to provide young people with up-to-date, evidence-based information and inspires students to think for themselves on issues such as relationships, abortion, sexual health and reproductive technologies.

Vision, Mission and Values:

LIFE looks forward to a world in which;

• The rights and dignity of each person are afforded the utmost respect, in law and in practice, from fertilisation (conception) until natural death;
• Women who are faced with a crisis pregnancy are given as much practical, financial and emotional support as is necessary to help them bring their pregnancy to term, and are supported for as long afterwards as necessary;
• Our young people are given a true sense of their self worth and a full appreciation of the importance of loving, stable and faithful relationships;
• Medical science, in seeking to overcome and cure debilitating illnesses and diseases, pursues research that demonstrates the utmost respect for human life from fertilisation (conception) until natural death.

LIFE’s mission is to uphold the utmost respect for human life from fertilisation (conception) until natural death.

LIFE fulfils this mission by:

• Offering non-directive counselling and information on pregnancy, pregnancy loss and abortion;
• Offering practical and emotional support to help women continue their pregnancy and supporting them for as long afterwards as necessary;
• Offering counselling and support for women and men damaged by abortion;
• Offering counselling and support for women and men suffering as a result of pregnancy loss;
• Offering information and support on adoption;
• Providing a nationwide network of supported accommodation for pregnant women and/or mothers of small children;
• Educating the public, but most importantly young people, about the rights and dignity of each person;
• Acting as an advocate at national and international level for the rights and dignity of each person from fertilisation (conception) until natural death and challenging governments and policy makers to adopt policies which reflect and uphold the utmost respect for human life from fertilisation until natural death.

The values that inspire our work are:

Compassion
Confronted by so many practices that compromise the rights and dignity of each person from fertilisation (conception), our most fundamental response is compassion for those who suffer, particularly women and their children.

Justice
Justice demands that the rights and dignity of each person are afforded the utmost respect from the very beginning of human life, the moment of fertilisation (conception) until natural death.

Truth
We strive to promote the truth about the rights and dignity of each person and about the nature and consequences of practices that do not demonstrate the utmost respect for each person.

Hope
We believe that we can and do make a difference to the lives of women, men and children. There are people alive today who would not be here if it were not for the work of LIFE. Change is happening, lives are being transformed and we can look to the future with optimism and real hope.

LIFE was founded in 1970 on the principle that all human life should be respected, from conception to natural death.A pregnancy Care service grew rapidly, with 100 LIFE groups by 1980 caring for women facing crisis pregnancy. They also worked with schools and colleges, promoting care and respect for human life.

In 1973, LIFE acquired its first house in Coventry from a generous donor which enabled it to help more young women.  Following the passing of the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act, dozens of local authorities saw LIFE groups as the answer to help them discharge their new statutory responsibility to house homeless pregnant women, and so LIFE Housing was born.

There were soon Care Centres and LIFE houses in almost all cities and major towns in the UK, with LIFE Northern Ireland opening in 1981. By 2000 more than 5,000 women and their children were accommodated in LIFE houses and the number is significantly higher today.

LIFE Education is now delivered by a team of Education Officers, who provide up-to-date, evidence-based information on sex & relationships, abortion, reproductive technology and other related topics.  Talks link in with the National Curriculum and encourage young people to develop their own opinions on these key issues.

Another donation of a building in Liverpool in 1994 enabled LIFE to establish its first Health Centre. This gave space for two new developments; a FertilityCare clinic, which adopted a more natural alternative to IVF treatment, and the creation of the first Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice.

There are now three Zoe’s Places in Liverpool, Coventry and Middlesbrough, providing care for children aged between 0-5 years, with life-limiting or terminal illnesses. Zoe’s Places believe that life is precious, no matter how long it lasts and provides palliative care for its very young patients to ensure they have the best life possible.

Having started from a bedroom in Leamington Spa, LIFE acquired its own HQ building in 1989 and 2010 saw all four programme areas – Care, Housing, Education and FertilityCare – coming together under one roof, again in Leamington Spa. The following year LIFE became core members of the ‘Sexual Health Forum’ – the principal advisory group to the government on sexual health.

LIFE’s work continues to develop but the same core, pro-life values lie at the heart of our work today as they did over 40 years ago.  As non-religious charity, LIFE believes in the value and dignity of human life from beginning to end and our services exist to uphold and enact these values.