October 18, 2019 (SPUC) – British pro-life campaigners have launched a high profile campaign attacking plans to impose abortion on Northern Ireland from Westminster.
Full-page newspaper advertisements are appearing in Northern Ireland funded by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the world’s longest established pro-life organization.
The £6,000 campaign is being mounted a week ahead of the controversial House of Commons legislation coming into force on October 22.
The ads point out that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) say they will return to Stormont to stop the imposition of the law and appeals to Sinn Fein to act, stating:
“Where are Sinn Fein? Only four days to save our unborn babies. Every abortion is an act of lethal violence directed at an innocent child.”
Last month, Liam Gibson, SPUC’s Northern Ireland political officer, gave an exclusive interview to LifeSite summarizing the current situation in Northern Ireland.
The ad urges the public to contact Sinn Fein and tell the party to “stop putting party politics ahead of the lives of our unborn children and make devolution work.”.
“What has happened is a disgraceful abuse of power by Westminster,” Gibson said. “It is outrageous that MPs and peers from England, Scotland and Wales cared so little for the rule of law that an overwhelming majority were prepared to disregard the right of the people of Northern Ireland to maintain legislation which has saved the lives of over 100,000 children since 1967.
“Abortion law is a devolved issue so Parliament has effectively trampled on the devolution settlement at the heart of the Belfast Agreement. It has also set a dangerous precedent that could have lasting consequences for the rule of law. Imposing the decriminalization of abortion on Northern Ireland will cost the lives of tens of thousands more unborn children by ushering in one of the most extreme abortion regimes in Europe.”
“By ramming abortion on demand down our throats, Parliament has torn up the devolution settlement and is treating Northern Ireland as a colony.”
The abortion crisis looms in the wake of the July decision by the House of Commons to pass the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill by 328 votes to 65.
“Intended to extend the deadline for the restoration of the Stormont Assembly, the passage of this bill will be remembered as one of the most shocking abuses of the Parliamentary process in modern times,” Gibson said.
“MPs also repealed sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. This law has saved more than 100,000 babies in Northern Ireland in the past 50 years.”
“What is most shocking is that all this has been done in the name of human rights,” Gibson added. “Abortion is not a human right. It is an act of lethal violence directed at an unborn child and is never justified.”
Michael Robinson, director of Parliamentary communications for SPUC, said, “The UK has one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world. Since 1967, our laws have permitted the killing of more than 9 million babies and injured countless women physically and psychologically. The Abortion Act has brought only misery and destruction. No society which is genuinely committed to equality and human rights could tolerate such a law. We are now faced with the prospect of an even more extreme situation being imposed on Northern Ireland.”