A Christian legal advocacy group has said that Britain’s vote to decriminalise abortion up to the point of birth represents a “moral collapse” that will increase the likelihood of women putting themselves in danger.
Abortion in Britain is currently permitted up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. Anything beyond this point usually comes under criminal law.
ADF International, which among other things provides legal aid to Christians in need, described the amendment to decriminalise abortion completely as “deeply disturbing and dangerous”.
The group warned that the removal of criminal sanctions is likely to lead to an increase in the number of women attempting to perform late-term abortions on themselves at home, an act that comes with significant dangers.
Should the amendment become law, babies that are fully developed, viable and capable of feeling pain would have no legal protections.
ADF also noted that Parliament’s decision represented a massive disconnect between the people and those who supposedly represent their views. Nearly 60 per cent of MPs voted for the change, despite polls showing only 1% of women support it.
The group also noted the perversity of a legal system in which mothers are permitted to kill their babies a day before they are due, but a person who prays silently outside an abortion centre is hauled through the courts and given a criminal record.
“This is not just a policy change. This is a moral collapse — a failure to uphold the dignity and value of every human life," it said.
ADF continued, “While full-term abortions would now be legal under this law, individuals like our client, Adam Smith-Connor, have been criminally convicted for silently praying outside abortion clinics.”
ADF called upon the House of Lords to do what it could to ensure that the lives of both mother and baby are protected by law. It also called upon believers to pray for “wisdom, compassion, and justice in these dark and challenging times”.
