Colm Fitzpatrick
A prominent pro-life group has condemned politicians who a signed an “outrageous” letter calling on the UK government to legalise the killing of Northern Ireland’s unborn babies.
The Northern Irish group, Precious Life, said that the letter to Prime Minister Theresa May and her Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar which was coordinated by Labour MP Stella Creasy and signed by politicians in the UK and Ireland, was a “shocking and outrageous attack on Northern Ireland’s unborn babies and the peace process”.
Commenting on the letter, Director of Precious Life Bernadette Smyth, said “Northern Ireland is now the only part of the UK and Ireland where unborn children are protected in law. But these pro-abortion politicians want to decriminalise abortion here by removing Sections 58 and 59 of the ‘Offences Against The Person Act’. This is totally shocking and extreme beyond words.
Legal protection
“To repeal Sections 58 and 59 would remove all safeguards for pregnant women, leaving them and their unborn children with no legal protection at all throughout the whole nine months of pregnancy. This move would be disastrous for the health and wellbeing of the women in Northern Ireland.”
Ms Smyth added that the move is a “clear attack” on Northern Ireland’s democratic process – and demonstrates a shocking level of “utter contempt” for democracy.
“In 2016, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted against any change in the laws, so this must be respected. We are calling on the people of Northern Ireland to contact Theresa May and Leo Varadkar, and also lobby their MLAs and MPs at this critical time, urging them to ensure that unborn children and their mothers continue to be protected, and that the democratic process here is respected.”
The pro-life campaigner concluded that Northern Ireland’s laws are “progressive, modern and compassionate,” because science shows that the preborn baby is a human being, and that abortion “hurts women”.