American civil rights leader Alveda King joined British pro-life advocates Saturday to mourn the 9 million unborn babies lost to abortion in the United Kingdom in the past 50 years.

King, the niece of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., compared aborting unborn babies to the lynching of blacks in America, Christian Today reports. She said she believes the UK’s 50-year-old abortion law will someday be seen in the same light as slavery and other racial discrimination.

Describing abortion as “womb lynching,” King said: “There is no doubt that the pro-life movement is the civil rights movement of our century because it is the fundamental right of every one of every race to live. Of what use are all our other rights if we can simply choose to deny a person the right to be born in the first place?”

She spoke during a pro-life event to mourn the 50-year anniversary of legalized abortion in the UK Saturday at the Westminster Cathedral in England, according to the report.

Some churches in the area rang their bells 50 times to remember the anniversary and the babies whose lives were destroyed legally.

“… today’s unborn are yesterday’s blacks – best kept out of sight and out of mind lest they remind us of the injustices we commit,” King continued. “If history tells us one thing about mass killing, it’s that it is always preceded by dehumanisation.”

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Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks in the UK and even later in certain circumstances. Some abortion activists now are calling for complete decriminalization of abortion in England.

Nearly 8.9 million unborn babies have been killed in abortions since the UK legalized abortion in 1967, according to the Catholic Herald. This amounts to one abortion every three minutes in England, Scotland and Wales. What’s more, approximately £758 million taxpayer pounds have been spent on abortions in the past five decades, according to the report.

King said pro-life advocates must continue working hard to expose the abortion industry’s lies. She said people must be reminded of the truth that unborn babies are human beings who deserve a right to life.

“We must now decry this lie from the rooftops. We must unite in proclaiming the settled scientific truth that a unique and distinct human life is present from conception,” King said. “After the inevitable abolition of abortion, as future generations look back on this dark era, let our names be counted among those who peacefully resisted.”