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Central London abortion centre to stop performing abortions
The central London centre of the British Pregnancy Advisory Services (BPAS) is to stop performing abortions there. The abortions will now be performed at its recently-opened centre in Stratford, east London. Daniel Blackman, a research and education officer of SPUC and a member of the 40 Days for Life London organising team from 2010 to 2012, said: "The news that BPAS will no longer be performing chemical abortions at its Bedford Square facility is to be welcomed. Special mention should be made of 40 Days for Life, Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, and the Good Counsel Network, who have held prayer vigils outside the BPAS facility for a number of years. However, like the head of Hydra, BPAS opened a new facility in Stratford, East London in 2011. SPUC launched a vigorous campaign of opposition, working closely with local residents and pro-life groups. Sadly, BPAS Stratford is now open six days a week, with long opening hours, carrying out chemical and surgical abortions, ie, more abortion procedures than were offered at Bedford Square. It is situated on the ground floor of a residential block housing residents with complex needs, in an area with one of the highest abortions rates in the country. SPUC, together with others who want to offer protection for unborn children and their parents, will continue its campaign against BPAS." [Catholic Herald, 18 June]
Abortion should not be used as a contraceptive, says Lord Steel, author of 1967 Act
Lord (David) Steel, the author of the 1967 Abortion Act, has criticised the practice of repeat abortions in Britain. He said: "It is odd that so many women present for repeat abortions, some more than twice, which does suggest they are treating abortion as contraception. This was never the purpose of the 1967 reform." Josephine Quintavalle of the Pro-Life Alliance responded to Lord Steel's comments, saying: ‘David Steel needs to face the reality of the provision of abortion in this country, that it is not just being provided for women in dramatic need but is available on demand. It was verging on the ingenuous of him to imagine when he brought forward his legislation in 1967 that abortion wouldn’t end up being available on demand. The trouble is that many people think there is nothing wrong with repeat abortions. They say: abortion is either right or wrong, so if you can have one you should be able to have as many as you can ask for." [Mail, 19 June]
Other stories:
Abortion
- Fine Gael TD Brian Walsh says he cannot support Protection of Life in Pregnancy Bill [Pat Buckley, 19 June]
- Leader of pro-abortion unions likens pregnant Duchess to women "who have babies to get state handouts" [Telegraph, 18 June]
- Reilly concedes that abortion laws will mean more babies ‘suffering damage’ [Pat Buckley, 18 June]
- Fine Gael Senator will not support abortion law [Pat Buckley, 17 June]
- Only 5% of women regret being denied an abortion [LifeSiteNews.com, 14 June]
- FG rebels demand free vote on abortion to avoid exodus and Sinn Fein will apply party whip [Pat Buckley, 14 June]
- "I can’t believe that the people of Poland and Ireland, once they understand what is happening, will not stand up in defense of human life", says US Cardinal Burke [Pat Buckley, 13 June]
Euthanasia
- Notorious child killer seeks to starve himself to death [Sky, 17 June]
Sexual ethics
- Poland: Prime Minister backs down and admits opposition to homosexual civil unions is too strong [Pink News, 18 June]
- Duma bars Russian children from adoption by foreign same sex couples [Russia Today, 18 June]
- Stonewall scandal at Catholic university college points to bureaucrats as the problem [John Smeaton, 13 June]
General
To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2018