British Parliament Lobbied Heavily on Legalizing Abortion in Northern Ireland
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 9, 2008
London, England (LifeNews.com) — The British Parliament will eventually begin a debate on whether to extend the 1967 law that legalized abortion in England to Northern Ireland. Pro-life advocates throughout Britain have been lobbying MPs to vote against the amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill to do that.
On the other side, Alliance for Choice spokesperson Barbara Muldoon has rolled out a campaign to urge lawmakers to expand abortion.
"Northern Ireland is already 41 years behind England, Scotland and Wales," she said, according to a BBC report. ""(That’s) something that really seems inconceivable, that women in Northern Ireland would be denied a right that their sisters elsewhere in the UK have."
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s leading pro-life group Precious Life is planning a large rally on October 18 that will place at Parliament Buildings and Stormont in Belfast.
In the six weeks leading up to the rally, the pro-life group will run an intensive public awareness campaign, including newspaper adverts, billboards, public meetings, and street information stalls in towns across Northern Ireland.
Precious Life began distributing thousands of rally leaflets in Belfast city last weekend.
The abortion threat to Northern Ireland comes from a group of MPs in Westminster who have put forward a proposal to extend the 1967 Abortion Act to the province, despite strong opposition from the people, politicians, and churches.
There could be a vote on the proposal in the Houses of Parliament as early as October during the ‘Report Stage’ of the controversial legislation.
"We had a fantastic response to our rally leaflets from the public in Belfast city center on Saturday," director of Precious Life, Bernadette Smyth told LifeNews.com.
"The Rally is supported by a coalition of pro-life groups, local MPs, and Assembly Members," she explained. "The Rally for Life will give the people of Northern Ireland an opportunity to send out a clear message to Westminster that we will never accept the extension of the Abortion Act."
Denise Mountenay from Canada will speak in the Europa Hotel on Thursday evening at the first of Precious Life’s series of public meetings. She is the co-founder of Women for Life International and also the head of Canada Silent No More.
Smyth said, "These meetings are to raise awareness of the serious threat of abortion being forced on Northern Ireland from Westminster."
"As Northern Ireland faces the threat of abortion being forced on us, this meeting will serve as a timely warning from a woman who has firsthand experience of the devastating effects of abortion — on herself; on other women; and on her country," she said.
Related web sites:
Precious Life – https://www.preciouslife.com
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
