Proposed amendments to the Justice (no 2) Bill
In 2015 the Department of Justice held a consultation regarding
the criminal law on abortion.
This focused on two aspects - Lethal foetal
abnormality and sexual crime. The response was reported as follows -
• There were 712 individually written responses. 579 of these opposed
change, 133 supported change;
• There were 65 responses from representative organisations and
interested groups.
47 of these supported change, 18 were against;
• there were 921 letters opposing change written in support of seven
lobby campaigns which may have been organised by individual churches or faith
groups;
• There were 23,622 petition signatures opposing change. The petition,
called Project Love, was organised by Every Life Counts Ireland. It was made up
of 18,000 postcards, delivered to the Department by Precious Life; a further
2,197 sent directly to the Department and 3,425 signatures to the electronic
version of the petition on a website called CitizenGo.org.
Despite the overwhelming public opposition, at the end of last month
proposed amendments were made by the Alliance party and the Green party to
implement these changes to the Justice Bill.
It seems they are intent on riding roughshod over the views of the
people to fulfil their own liberal agenda.
While we acknowledge the pain and the trauma of both parents and the
women involved in each of these cases, the Bible teaches us that every life is
important before God. David could say in-
Psalm 139:14 “I will praise thee; for I
am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works;”
It is our Christian duty in obedience to the commands of God to preserve
life and not to end it.
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
If a child develops cancer or some handicap then both the parents and
the medical profession will rightly do all that they can to preserve the life
of their child and provide the best level of care that is possible, why should this
be different if the child is still in the womb?
Why should we as a society make such excellent provision for those who
are disabled to integrate into normal life and at the same time end the lives
of those whom we fear may be born disabled?
The amendment states-
(a) a pregnancy is terminated by a registered
medical practitioner where a diagnosis has been made of a foetal abnormality
which is likely to prove fatal, and
(b) the diagnosis was made by two suitably
qualified registered medical practitioners who are of the opinion, formed in
good faith, that—
(i) the condition of the foetus is likely to cause
death either before birth, or during birth, or, (ii) if a live birth should
occur, there is no medical treatment which could be offered to alter the fatal
nature of the condition or improve the chances of survival.
What if the medical Practitioner gets it wrong?
They did in the case of Dale Eakin –
Remember - one of main arguments for the abolition of capital punishment was the
risk of an innocent person being executed.
Who defines the scope of “a foetal abnormality which is likely to prove
fatal”?
According to the Department of Health abortion statistics for
England and Wales in 2014-
3,099 abortions (2%) were carried out under ground E (risk that the
child would be born handicapped).
When those figures are broken down 662 abortions were due to an assumed
diagnosis of Downs syndrome, others for spina bifida, cleft lip and cleft
palate.
In the case of Rape-
Rape is a crime, as is incest and yet why should the innocent
unborn child be the one to suffer. The child is as much a victim as the mother;
the taking of the life of the child only compounds the damage that has been
done.
One victim made the comment that the birth of the child was the only
light to come out of such a dark event. Another woman who had suffered this
terrible crime made the comment that she had got over the rape but not the
abortion.
Figures released by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland in 2013 showed that in 90
cases of pregnancy through rape only 17 women and girls chose to have a
termination. In the 2014 report, 40% of those who became pregnant went on
to give birth and parent their children.
Dangers of abortion.
Abortion for many has left them suffering from depression and a sense of
guilt that they may never get over. This is confirmed by a number of
studies-
· A study in Finland
revealed a six-fold increased rate of deaths from suicide among aborting women.
(BMJ 1996; 313:1431-1434)
· A study conducted in
Wales on 408,000 women between 1991 and 1995; found that women who had induced
abortions were 225 percent more likely to commit suicide than women admitted
for normal delivery. (BMJ 1997; 314:902)
There is also the risk associated with future pregnancies after induced
abortion to be considered as well.
Regardless of the liberal agenda within society, if we depart from
the laws of God then it will be to the detriment of our land.
Therefore we urge that the abortion Law in Northern Ireland remain as it
is.
The Lord Jesus Christ said regarding the children-
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall
offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the
depth of the sea.
This focused on two aspects - Lethal foetal abnormality and sexual crime. The response was reported as follows -
Figures released by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland in 2013 showed that in 90 cases of pregnancy through rape only 17 women and girls chose to have a termination. In the 2014 report, 40% of those who became pregnant went on to give birth and parent their children.
There is also the risk associated with future pregnancies after induced abortion to be considered as well.
