Christian politicians cancel anti-abortion protest in Utrecht

Conservative Christian political party SGP has canceled a planned rally in Utrecht on Friday, which was to show support for other anti-abortion campaigners. “To prevent disturbances, this planned visit will not take place,” the party said. The SGP noted the presence of pro-choice counterprotestors, alleging that they “have behaved aggressively towards pro-life monitors.”

The intention was for SGP political candidate Diederik van Dijk to visit those outside the clinic between 11 a.m. and noon for a conversation with the anti-abortion activists. The activists often approach women who want to have an abortion with the aim of talking them out of it, and they have been accused of doing so in a highly pressured manner. SGP is strongly opposed to abortion.

The party canceled Friday’s visit because there were “dozens of pro-abortion activists” at the clinic. According to the SGP, they were not only behaving aggressively, but they also scrawled slogans on the street in front of the clinic.

On Wednesday, the SGP announced its plan to visit abortion clinics on Thursday and Friday “to show support for guardians who engage in careful and loving conversations with women in an extremely vulnerable period of their lives.” According to the strict Christian party, abortion is “the greatest abuse of our time.” Party leader Chris Stoffer was at the site of a clinic in Rotterdam on Thursday.

The SGP's actions drew heavy criticism from other politicians. On X, VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz said she was “done with this ultra-conservative stuff.” D66 leader Rob Jetten called the action “very inappropriate.” And even Mirjam Bikker, leader of the conservative Christian party ChristenUnie, said she would not do such a thing, even though her party is against abortion.

Now that the visit to the clinic in Utrecht is canceled, Van Dijk is moving to “another location for a conversation with one of the guardians,” according to the SGP.