Today marks the commencement of permissive new abortion regulations in Northern Ireland – a country which formerly had one of the most pro-life laws in the West.
The change was imposed on the Province by the UK Government last year, in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly, and against the will of the people. Towards the end of 2019 around 20,000 NI citizens marched on Stormont to hold a silent vigil against a change in the law. And a recent consultation on the new regulations revealed 79 per cent opposition to a change in the law.
Today Northern Irish law has changed so that abortion is allowed up to 12 weeks for any reason, up to 24 weeks if there is a risk to the mother’s mental or physical health – a highly subjective clause – and up to term if the unborn child has a disability. It means that Northern Ireland has gone from the most pro-life country in the UK to the most pro-abortion part of the the UK at the stroke of a pen.
As some commentators have pointed out, the abortion lobby will now very likely call for the rest of the UK to be brought in line with Northern Ireland which, they will claim, has greater ‘reproductive rights’ than other nations. The race is on for complete decriminalisation of abortion in England, Wales and Scotland.
It is, of course, an incredibly sad day for Northern Ireland and the many Christians and pro-life groups who have lobbied against these changes over the last two years. We should pray for their encouragement and strength, and for the culture of life which exists in NI to continue and grow stronger despite the new legal landscape.
It was encouraging to see some MLAs speak out against these regressive changes at Stormont today, including Jonathan Buckley MLA and Paul Givan MLA. Despite being in a minority of pro-life politicians, they clearly represented the views of a majority of NI citizens. These politicians are firmly on the right side of history.
Yesterday, Salann described the stark contrast between how certain groups are upholding the vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis, compared to how the vulnerable are dismissed by those advocating assisted suicide. This contrast is, if anything, even more evident when it comes to abortion.
At present, the UK Government is rightfully taking steps to defend the vulnerable from COVID-19, recognising that the vulnerability of some people makes them more worthy of protection than others. But with the other hand, the Government is taking away the rights and protections of the most vulnerable category of human beings in our society – the unborn.
This week, Ministers also approved a loosening of the law around medical abortions to allow women to take both doses of abortion drugs at home, with consent from one medic rather than the usual two. This weakening of the law will be seen as a victory by pro-abortion campaigners, who will simply lobby the Government to keep the new rule once the coronavirus crisis has ended.
In this fallen world, the eyes of many politicians are blinded to the great evil that abortion represents. We must pray that their eyes will be opened, and we must continue to defend the value of human life, from conception to natural death.
Lord have mercy.
salann 