Midwives' spokeswoman accused of advocating illegal killing

Midwives' spokeswoman accused of advocating illegal killing Belfast, Monday, January 28, 2008 - Pro-life campaigners in Northern Ireland have accused the spokeswoman for the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in the Province of using her position to advocate the illegal killing of unborn children and especially children with disabilities.

Reacting to the comments made by Breedagh Hughes of the RCM, Betty Gibson, chairwoman for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said: "The law Northern Ireland is perfectly clear. Abortion is only permitted when the mother's life is in danger. Aborting children because they are disabled is illegal. "Four years ago, Breedagh Hughes spoke publicly about taking part in abortions she knew to be unlawful. Her open defiance of the law is actually inviting the authorities to bring a prosecution. However, her real fear seems to be that the unlawful abortion of disabled children may become impossible in Northern Ireland," said Mrs Gibson.

"When the Court of Appeal ordered the health department to publish guidance on abortion its intention was to reduce abortions. "However, the Department's guidelines would have made abortions more common. They did not reflect the law and ignored the overwhelming evidence of the physical and emotion damage women experience after abortion. Despite the claims made by Breedagh Hughes these guidelines would have undermined the rights of medical staff with a conscientious objection to abortion since they would have compelled nurses and midwives to facilitate abortion them by preparing women for operations and disposing of the remains of the children. "Almost unanimously the Northern Ireland Assembly rejected the guidelines last October. The reason Breedagh Hughes has issued this statement now is because Parliament is expected to debate amendments to the abortion law in the coming weeks. Having failed to convince the people of Northern Ireland that killing unborn children should be lawful the abortion lobby is now hoping the House of Commons will impose the Abortion Act against the will of the Assembly," said Mrs Gibson.