Anti-abortion and pro-choice activists to stage rival protests outside clinic Anti-abortion campaigners outside BPAS's clinic in Bedford Square, central London. Photograph: Melpressmen/Demotix/Corbis Organisers of an anti-abortion vigil and a pro-choice counter-protest outside a London clinic owned by Britain's biggest abortion provider both say that the recent focus on abortion has galvanised new support and they expect hundreds of people to turn out on Friday night. Activists from the 40 Days for Life campaign, which has been holding prayer vigils outside the Bedford Square clinic of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and has tweeted about achieving "turnarounds" of women who have changed their minds about going through with abortions, will be joined tonight by an auxiliary Catholic bishop of Westminster, Alan Hopes. But the organisers of what is billed as a one-off counter-protest say they expect to significantly outnumber the vigil, noting that more than 600 people have signed up on Facebook to attend the pro-choice event. "We want this to be a very clear reminder that there is very much a pro-choice majority out there and that groups like 40 Days for Life are a tiny but vocal minority," said Kerry Johnson of the Bloomsbury Pro-Choice Alliance. We have also taken steps to remind people that this is intended to be a friendly and peaceful event and we do not want anyone to get involved in confrontation of any sort. The pro-choice rally is also drawing support from outside London, with a contingent travelling up from Brighton, where controversy has also been sparked over anti-abortion protests outside a clinic there. Robert Colquhoun of 40 Days for Life, which is affiliated to a larger US anti-abortion network and holds annual 40-day vigils outside abortion clinics around the UK, said news of the counter-protest had helped build numbers due to attend the vigil. "This is the fourth time that we have done the campaign and we have been really encouraged this year by the increased interest recently," he said. We know that the model we are using brings results, changes hearts and minds and we hope to build on it. Both events are being stewarded and the organisers are liaising with police. BPAS said earlier this month that it was facing "a new era" in terms of the actions anti-abortion protesters were prepared to take after it called police to one of its London clinics where women were being filmed arriving and leaving. The 40 Days for Life campaign - which has said in the past that it uses cameras to protect its members from attack - attempted to distance itself from the incident, saying the cameraman was not associated with it and meant no harm. Diane Abbott, the shadow public health minister, said the anti-abortion vigil was "a statement of intent about the government's forthcoming abortion counselling consultation, and also a show of strength after the support these groups have received from the Department of Health and their friends in the media." She added: "Anyone following the trajectory of anti-abortion campaigning in the United States would understand where the anti-abortion movement in the UK is learning its lessons."