No to Abortion changes!

We welcome the outcome of yesterday's debate within the Northern Ireland Assembly that no change will be made to the current abortion law in Northern Ireland.
We commend each MLA who voted against it.

Below is a report by the Christian Institute:

The Christian Institute has welcomed as ‘heartening’ Stormont’s refusal to weaken legal protections for the unborn in Northern Ireland.
Late last night MLAs voted 59 to 40 against amending legislation to allow abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. They voted 64 to 32 against allowing abortion in cases of sexual crime.
During the debate, politicians from different parties expressed concern about the proposals.

‘Abortion on demand’

DUP MLA Emma Pengelly said medics had advised that there is no such term as “fatal foetal abnormality”, a point echoed by SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly.
Kelly also warned that changing the law in this way could pave the way for “abortion on demand”.

Abortion is not good healthcare for women Callum Webster

Before the debate, Attorney General John Larkin QC raised concerns that changing the law in this way could breach obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Vital protection

The DUP has asked the Health Minister Simon Hamilton to set up a working group to look into the issues raised by severely life-limiting disabilities.
The Christian Institute’s Northern Ireland Officer Callum Webster said that the existing law, permitting abortion only when the mother’s life is at risk, is a vital protection for women.
“It is heartening that the majority of MLAs have voted to uphold the sanctity of life today at Stormont. There has been a media campaign to undermine the legal protections afforded to our unborn children, but thankfully politicians have resisted that co-ordinated pressure.

Overwhelming opposition

“Abortion is not good healthcare for women. Instead we need to look at improving perinatal hospice care provision for babies with very limited life expectancies”.
Mr Webster added: “The Government’s own consultation last year showed that the public overwhelmingly opposes weaker abortion legislation – in fact less than one per cent favoured changing the law.
“The Assembly has stood up for the people of the Province and against those who wish to sell abortion as a positive choice whilst devaluing the lives of the most vulnerable in our society.

Lasting trauma

“I have had the privilege of meeting many women who have a different story to tell about abortion than the one popularised by the pro-abortion activists.
“Women like Lesley McAskie who was raped at 13 years old. A truly horrific experience but one made even worse by the lasting trauma of aborting her child.
“Women like the late Hilary McDowell – born with multiple disabilities and given a life expectancy of just 3 weeks – who went on to become a highly successful writer and broadcaster.

‘Precious hour’

“Women like Charlene McCabe, whose little girl Myla had Edwards Syndrome, a severe genetic disorder that would have been covered by these amendments. She told me that the time she had with Myla was the most precious hour and 55 minutes of her life – time she would never forget.”
“We know doctors are not infallible and they know that themselves. I have spoken to a couple right here in Northern Ireland who were told their son had a fatal foetal abnormality and were pressured to abort. The diagnosis was completely inaccurate.
“And what about the voice of the unborn? The children whose lives are on the line because someone decides that their life is not worth living. I was able to meet Gary, conceived through the awful trauma of rape but whose mother refused to abort him – a decision for which he is grateful beyond words.
“And these are just a few examples. Today, these people, and many more like them, can take comfort in the knowledge that their voices have been heard and that people like them are recognised for their value as human beings and for the incredible contribution they make to society.”

http://www.christian.org.uk/news/mlas-block-push-to-weaken-protections-for-unborn/

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 –

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/northern-ireland-news/wee-superstar-dale-eakin-turns-18-1-7192067 

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).  

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/abortion-statistics-england-and-wales-2014

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.