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Churches’ and Politicians Backing for Northern Ireland Abortion Stance Paves... : 16th Jun 08
Matter of Abortion Should be One for the Northern Ireland—Politicians and Church Leaders Unite to Defeat Move to Extend Abortion
The leaders of Ireland’s four main Christian Churches have welcomed the cross-party rejection of abortion in Northern Ireland. In a recent letter, Cardinal Seán Brady, Rev Roy Cooper, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Rt Rev John Finlay, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and Archbishop Alan Harper, Primate of the Church of Ireland, voiced their support for the stance taken by the Assembly parties against a proposed extension of the UK’s 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland.
That extension was discussed in parliament as part of the ongoing debate on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
Insisting that the matter of abortion should be one for the Northern Ireland Assembly, the four Church leaders said, “We feel it is important for the government to respect the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland and allow locally elected MLA’s to take the lead of this issue, especially in light of the debate on abortion that took place in October 2007 when all the main political parties in Northern Ireland signalled their opposition to an extension of the 1967 Abortion Act.
We would ask that, on this issue, MPs take account of the Northern Ireland political parties, and indeed of the people of Northern Ireland, by voting against any amendments concerning abortion legislation in Northern Ireland.”
In an historic move, the four main political parties in Northern Ireland were for the first time united in their opposition to the abortion plan. This united stand paved the way for victory and the plan to extend abortion to Northern Ireland was defeated. The Westminster parliament were forced to heed the wishes of the people in Northern Ireland in rejecting abortion. Following the issuing of the Churches’ letter, the British parliament confirmed that the proposal to extend abortion to Northern Ireland, had been abandoned. The Irish Catholic. May 22.
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