WESTMINSTER, May 10, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Britain’s anti-life Labour government – perhaps the most anti-life we have ever had – has been returned to power with a reduced but still workable majority,” said Paul Tully the general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) commenting on the election result.
The Labour Party was re-elected for a third consecutive term in Thursday’s general election with a slight parliamentary majority of 67, a far cry from the 167-seat majority in the 2001 election. “The strength of this government may have been sapped, but its sting has not been drawn. For the past eight years, they have worked to promote abortion at home and abroad, to promote embryo research, including human cloning, and most recently have legislated for euthanasia-by-omission in the Mental Capacity Act,” said Tully.
The new strongly pro-abortion Health Secretary is another ominous sign. “We were shocked to learn of the appointment of pro-abortion MP Patricia Hewitt as Secretary of State for Health. Ms Hewitt has previously expressed support for the Abortion Act and for extending abortion on demand. This may indicate the government’s intention to press ahead in the very near future with de-regulation of abortion,” said Tully.
SPUC warned in the wake of the election results that a review of the abortion law under the new Parliament would lead to more abortions than ever. “The election result means that a review of the law on abortion is certainly not in the interests of unborn children. For many months both sympathetic and antagonistic journals have engaged in misleading talk about reducing the 24-week time limit that applies to some abortions. The policy makers are happy to encourage this because it diverts attention from their real agenda of enshrining a “human right to abortion” in law in the first three months of pregnancy,” said Tully. “Such de-regulation of abortion law and practice will greatly increase abortions, outweighing any reduction on later abortions. The vast majority of abortions continue to be performed before 13 weeks.”