Northern Ireland Pro-Life Group Lobbies MLAs to Oppose Abortion

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 26, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Northern Ireland Pro-Life Group Lobbies MLAs to Oppose Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 26,
2007

Belfast, Northern Ireland (LifeNews.com) — The leading Northern Ireland pro-life group Precious Life has taken out newspaper ads across the region asking pro-life people to contact the members of the Legislative Assembly and urge them to oppose abortion. The campaign urges pro-life advocates to sign petitions and distribute more.

The petitions back a bill filed by MPs Jeffrey Donaldson and Iris Robinson in opposition to draft guidelines on abortion which were issued by the Department of Health in January.

The bills calls on the Health Minister to abandon "any attempt to make abortion more widely available in Northern Ireland."

Precious Life says the guidelines will change how the law on abortion is interpreted and legalize abortion in Northern Ireland “through the back door.”

“This motion against abortion is currently a ‘No Day Named Motion’ so it could be debated anytime within the next few weeks," Director of Precious Life Bernadette Smyth told LifeNews.com.

"We have already distributed over 30,000 postcards across Northern Ireland for the public to sign and send to their Assembly members urging them to support the motion," she added.

"To ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to sign the petition we have printed it as an advertisement in Northern Ireland’s three daily newspapers," Smyth explained.

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless the life of the mother is in danger or the continuation of the pregnancy would cause the woman very serious health issues.

In January, the health department responded to the pro-abortion Family Planning Association, which wants to expand the health definition and allow more abortions to be done.

But Smyth’s group worries any change in the definition will essentially make abortion legal and expand the handful of abortions currently done.

“Our legal advisors have informed us that although the Department of Health guidelines cannot change the law on abortion in Northern Ireland, they will change how the law is interpreted," she told LifeNews.com.

News of the latest Assembly motion comes as some MPs in London are calling for the 1967 Abortion Act to be extended to Northern Ireland.

Related web sites:
Precious Life – https://www.preciouslife.com