Evangelical Alliance Backs Campaign to Reduce Escalating Abortion Levels

The Evangelical Alliance has given its full support to the Alive and Kicking campaign on Oct. 26th, after new evidence was released showing that eight in ten people thought that the levels and number of abortions being carried out each year were too high.

|TOP|Research reveals that the number of abortions being carried out in Britain each year now has escalated to nearly 200,000. The Alive and Kicking campaign has been set up to call for a change in the abortion law after the new evidence was released, which also found that 80% wanted ways to be found to reduce this increasingly worrying figure.

The statistics have been created using a poll of 1005 adults, conducted by CommunicateResearch for Alive and Kicking. It also showed that young people and women were the ones most strong in their commitment for there to be a reduction.

The Alive and Kicking campaign, was launched at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton last month Sept. 26th.

The campaign is composed of a growing alliance of human rights groups and has been formed in response to mounting evidence of big public support for changes in UK abortion legislation. A recent opinion poll commissioned by Alive & Kicking shows that 63% of MPs would support a reduction in the upper limit for abortion, and that two thirds of the general public would like to see the change now.

Citra Abbott of Alive & Kicking said, “This will be the biggest campaign the country has ever seen in defence of the baby before birth. There have been more than 6 million abortions in Britain since 1967, equal to 10% of our current population. Numbers are escalating, and the majority of people are seriously worried that abortion is out of control. We strongly agree and will work with the British public to make abortion rare, with our first campaign objective to halve the yearly figures.

“We are also campaigning against abortion for disability which is grossly discriminatory. Simone Aspis, from the disability group ‘Changing Perspectives', will address the meeting on the equality principles infringed by current abortion laws.”

|QUOTE|The Director of Public Policy at the Evangelical Alliance, R. David Muir said, “This research confirms already existing scientific evidence which suggests that the abortion law has not kept up with knowledge about development in the womb.

“It is particularly interesting and significant that the new poll shows that of those offering an opinion more than six in ten (62%) believe the 24-week abortion limit should be lowered ‘significantly’ given that more than 80% of babies born at that age survive. Among the 18-24 age group support rises to 75% and among women support stands at 66% (compared to 58% of men). The Alive and Kicking campaign commands our full support.”

The poll was carried out specifically to mark the eve of the Abortion Act’s 38th anniversary, and looks to highlight how much the public regards the laws governing abortion to be out of date in the modern world.

The Evangelical Alliance’s backing of the campaign also follows on the back of the annual Students Day of Silent Solidarity which was organised by Stand True Ministries on Oct. 25th, 2005.

In the initiative Students from more than 1,000 campuses across the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Canada and the Philippines took a vow of silence to express sorrow at the thousands of abortions that take place every day in each of their countries.