The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) says the proposed amendment to the Queen's speech, which would give free abortions on the English NHS to women from Northern Ireland, is "opportunistic" and has "nothing to do with the welfare of women in Northern Ireland."
Liam Gibson, SPUC's Northern Ireland Development Officer, said:
"The proposed amendment to the Queen's Speech has nothing to do with the welfare of women in Northern Ireland. Its real purpose is to promote the financial interests of the British abortion industry which has been steadily losing customers from Northern Ireland for the last 15 years. Only 724 women from the Province had abortions in Britain in 2016, less than half the number in 2001. Yet around 200,000 abortions take place every year in Britain and the vast majority of these are carried out by commercial providers, like BPAS and Marie Stopes International. These businesses are then paid by the NHS for each abortion.
"Yet, abortion is not healthcare. It is an act of lethal violence directed at a child and is never justified. Nor is there any scientific evidence that abortion has any health benefits for women. In fact, there are hundreds of studies detailing the physical and psychological harm abortion can do. Instead of continually seeking to undermine Northern Ireland’s legal protection for our unborn children, it’s time MPs from England, Scotland and Wales did something to help women in their own constituencies avoid abortion and the terrible consequences that go with it."
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For further information contact Liam Gibson, Northern Ireland Development Officer on: