Britain Marks 40 Years of Legalized Abortion on Sunday, No Change Likely

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 28, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Britain Marks 40 Years of Legalized Abortion on Sunday, No Change Likely

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 28
, 2008

London, England (LifeNews.com) — Britain marks 40 years of legalized abortion on Sunday and pro-life advocates are concerned that no change is anywhere in sight. Britain’s Abortion Act came into force 40 years ago, but women who have had abortions and regret their decisions join millions of unborn children as victims.

Asked if the British government has any plans to change the abortion law, the office of Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the British government is content with virtually unlimited legal abortions.

John Smeaton of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said that’s concerning news.

"Sadly, there’s a substantial pro-abortion majority in Parliament," he told LifeNews.com.

"We sincerely hope that when the Government states that it has no plans to change the abortion law, it will seek to promote a consensus that the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill is not used to open up the Abortion Act on the floor of Parliament," he said.

Abortion advocates applauded the grim occasion as a supposed advancement for women.

"The Abortion Act and its enactment was an historic advance for women," says Louise Hutchins, campaign director for the Abortion Rights group. "It ended the days of backstreet abortion with thousands of women being killed and many thousands more being injured and maimed for the rest of their lives.’

But, women from the Silent No More campaign gathered in Parliament Square on Saturday to mourn the anniversary.

They say women continue to be injured and killed by abortions, despite their legality, and say abortions adversely affected them for the rest of their lives.

"Not a day goes by when I don’t think of my lost child. When I wake up in the morning I know I’ve had an abortion. I would never wish this pain on anybody," one participant said, according to a Inspire Magazine report.

Yet abortion advocates defend their involvement in legalizing abortion.

David Steel, the parliamentarian who introduced the Act, told Reuters that pro-life Britons continue to tell him they’re saddened by his legacy.

"I used to — and still occasionally do — get lunatic letters comparing me to Herod and Hitler," he said.