The 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act is an important moment for reflection. It gives us all an opportunity to seek to cherish human life and to support women in difficult circumstances.
The law affects attitudes, but it does not itself compel anyone to have an abortion. Even without a change in the law the abortion rate could fall dramatically if enough minds and hearts were changed.
The miraculous nature of human reproduction has become ever more apparent through recent advances in medical technology. In 1967 Ultrasound was a primitive tool.
Ultrasound scanners today can reveal in extraordinary detail the development of a human life in the womb. Premature babies are now able to survive at ever younger ages.
Developmental biology makes increasingly clear the beautiful and intricate processes of continuous development and growth of the single unique organism which is formed at conception. That is when our lives started.
From that point on, there is a new human life which is neither the life of the father nor the mother. In 2007 we understand better than ever before, because we have seen it with our own eyes, the wonderful process of life that is brought to an end by abortion.
The 1967 Act was intended to solve the problem of illegal abortion, on the basis that it was a major cause of death in pregnant women. Yet our countries now perform nearly 200,000 abortions every year.
We have one of the most liberal abortion laws in Europe with abortion up to 24 weeks and abortion in the case of disability (and on some other grounds) up to birth.
Whatever our religious creed or political conviction, abortion on this scale can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all.
The Catholic Church throughout the world has been constant in its opposition to abortion as morally wrong, and has been determined to give voice to the silent cry for love and recognition that belongs to every human life.
The Church has for many years in our countries been at the forefront of offering practical, emotional and spiritual care to women and babies in need. It has sought, too, to help the many women, and men, who suffer grief, pain and loss following an abortion experience.
In the years since 1967 much has been made of the slogan 'the woman's right to choose'. Yet the right to make a genuine choice is exactly what very many women who have abortions say they do not have.
Abortion is a moment of choice. Abortion is always a choice between life and death, but we recognize that it is made in complex personal and domestic situations.
It can be especially difficult for the mother if she feels abandoned by her partner or that by having the child she will lose the support of her family or society.
Women in this situation can feel intensely isolated. Many women and men, too, already feel the pressure of caring for their families.
They often have to cope with financial burdens and the demands of a career. In such situations, family relationships can feel so strained that they do not feel they can welcome another life.
