Cross-border stand made on abortion laws

Published Friday, 01 March 2013

A cross-border, cross-party delegation has met at Stormont in a show of support for the current abortion laws in place in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

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They came together to highlight their belief that the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act that made abortion illegal across the island should not be changed.

Under current legislation abortion is illegal, except in limited circumstances where the mother's life or mental well-being are considered at risk.

The law is being reviewed by both governments, in Northern Ireland the Health Minister is due to produce draft guidelines before Stormont next week on when abortion may be allowed.

In December, the Irish state also announced its intention to introduce a combination of legislation and regulations on abortion.

It may be a 150 year old law, but for those attending the event on Friday it's as relevant as ever.

The meeting included DUP and UUP MLAs, Westminster representatives, a Fianna Fáil senator and former MEP Dana Scallon.

We need to know that when we open that door for exceptional cases, then it's going to be an avalanche of abortions.
Dana

"When you talk about the basic foundation stones of any society of any age, protecting the dignity of the human person, protecting life at all stages, that never changes," Ms Scallon explained.

She said there was pressure coming from 'outside the island of Ireland' to have a wide availability of abortion and warned of the risk in allowing terminations in some circumstances.

The show of unity comes against a backdrop of tension at Stormont on the issue.

On Wednesday it emerged that DUP and SDLP assembly members jointly tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that only allows terminations to be carried out within the NHS.

SDLP North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness and Lagan Valley DUP MLA Paul Givan said they had "grave concerns" about private clinics operating in Northern Ireland.

They want to ensure it is illegal to carry out an abortion, except through the NHS.

In response, a number of MLA's have signed a petition of concern - that could stop this from going through if they get 30 signatures.

One of them, Alliance Party assembly member Anna Lo, accused the MLAs of trying to sneak the amendment through without public scrutiny.

"The Criminal Justice Bill has received absolutely wide spread consultation, it has gone through the whole process," the south Belfast MLA said.

I would see it as a personal vendetta against Marie Stopes, and I would say those MLAs have their own personal agenda - that is an anti-choice agenda.
Anna Lo, Alliance

Ms Lo added that the amendment would cause lots of problems if it were introduced.

"We have hundreds of private healthcare providers," she said.

"In my constituency, there are private health clinics, cosmetic surgeries, Chinese medicine. The NHS contracts lots and lots of private healthcare providers.

"So where do you begin with this bill and where do you end?"

Comments

13 Comments

pat4forty in U.S.A. wrote (74 days ago):

To A Woman in Newtownabbey: Your position seems reasonable on the surface. But experience has shown that in practice it is disastrous. Forty years of legalized abortion in America shows us that contraception, which is the cornerstone of so called enlightened "sex education", instead of reducing or eliminating abortion actually promotes and increases it. Planned Parenthood, the world's largest and most voracious abortion provider understands that very well. The only kind of sex education that will be of value regarding abortion is the kind that stresses the all-important fact that human life begins at fertilization as every text book on modern obstetrics states unequivocally. I know of no sex education programmes in existence today which give that fact the importance it deserves. You are quite right in saying "Please allow girls and women who find themselves in this position, the chance to make the best choice for them by having all the information before them". All the information, yes, and that is precisely what Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes will not allow. They deceive women into thinking they are not carrying life or that that life is trivial. Once women facing abortion are shown ultra sound images of their developing babies almost all of them change their minds. Being fully informed is indeed crucial. I agree with you too that we need to be "more open and honest" about this issue.Marie Stopes need to be more open and honest about their intention to circumvent the law instead of deceiving people. Sex educators need to be more open and honest about the fact that a new and unique human life begins when the sperm and egg meet. Let us hope and pray that such openness and honesty will be forthcoming.

margaret pattinson in Aberdeen, Scotland wrote (74 days ago):

When a woman aborts her baby she suffers for the rest of her life. The island of Ireland is one of the safest places to have a baby as the maternal mortality rate is negligble,and womens health and especially of mothersis the the best in the world. The facts bare this out. When abortion is legalised there is an increase in maternal mortality,unhealthy women, divorce and child abuse. Dr David Steele has said that he didnt want the abortion law to bring about abortion on demand. The number of abortions performed in Scotland since the legalisation of abortion is equivalent to the whole of the Scottish population.

Einstein in Belfast wrote (75 days ago):

It's all very well for Anna Lo to say this. It would be fine, unless the child to actually be aborted was HER...& then would she still call for abortion? If you were that child, would you say "Yes, go ahead!" - or would you be more likely to ask to be given life? And if you do - who is going to listen to you? Tell me - what are you going to do? Where are you going to run to?? Tell me - where are you going to go?

Ryan in Belfast wrote (77 days ago):

Abortion is going to be one of the factors that influence the decline of European demographics. How can a people survive if its killing its unborn? Its madness, whatever way you look at it. And to say its all about religion is just stupid. And before people think im "over reacting" about abortion, look at the population of Ukraine, Germany, Russia, France, etc their populaton is dramatically decreasing due to low birth rate, abortion, etc its such a problem in Germany that a very large percentage of germans will be old aged pensioners in the future without a younger generation to replace them. If you look at the demographics in Africa/Asia and other places, the demographics is exploding, while Europe is shrinking. So dont be complaining when we have to import an entire generation of immigrants to replace the generation we killed. Yes, literally killed. You have yourselves and your simpleton, soft thinking to thank for that. People just look up the factors of abortion, you'll see that im right.

Carrie in Co. Antrim wrote (77 days ago):

The idea that SOME abortions are okay and others aren't, is a poorly thought-out one. An abortion is the deliberate act of killing an unborn child (or destroying live cells, if you want to be really cold about it). Either that act is right, or it is wrong. The value of that life (or group of cells) does not depend on how it came to be, but on the fact that it IS. What scares me a little (well, a lot) is that women who are on the pill as a form of contraception are never told directly that this pill can cause an abortion. They do say that it 'changes the lining of the uterus' making implantation difficult...if this happens, an abortion (albeit a very early one) has occurred. Our opinions are largely based on the information given to us by health care providers, the media, the government etc., but it is up to each of us to ensure that we make an effort to properly inform ourselves, lest we end up a nation which values opinion over fact. That appears to be the way in which we are heading. Even the very way in which Anna Lo lumps abortion in beside forms of healthcare can get us into the mindset that it's okay. It's not okay and it's not healthcare. This proposal also has implications for how we vote. If Sinn Fein continue to oppose it, no Catholic can, in good conscience, vote for them.

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