Pro-life campaigners have welcomed a House of Commons report which opposes proposals to impose abortion on Northern Ireland from Westminster.

But they have urged supporters to remain vigilant.

The House of Commons joint committee examining the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill published its report and specifically ruled out changing abortion law in Northern Ireland where power is devolved to Stormont which is currently not sitting.

The report states:

"There is a temptation that this Bill be used to address a range of other issues that are linked to Domestic Abuse. This is a temptation that the committee has tried to resist to help ensure this vital legislation has the best opportunity possible of making it onto the statute books. In particular, the committee felt strongly that this Bill should not be used to change the law on abortion in Northern Ireland and this view was reflected in the evidence that we received. We have not considered that it is part of our remit to consider this issue."

Welcoming the report, Antonia Tully, Campaign Director for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, the world’s oldest pro-life group, said:

"SPUC supporters have certainly contributed to the ‘large number of written submissions’ calling for this Bill not to be used to change the law on abortion.

"Our supporters were able to step up to the plate and really make a difference. The members of the Joint Committee have listened."

Liam Gibson, SPUC’s NI spokesman said:

"This is a crucially important report and the committee was right to resist the efforts to hijack this Bill in order to impose abortion on demand on the people of Northern Ireland. Abortion itself is a lethal act of violence directed at an innocent child, so it would be outrageous if legislation aimed at combating domestic abuse was used to target unborn children with the lethal violence of abortion. 

"We also know that women in violent relationships are often coerced into abortion. One study found that the rate of domestic abuse among women undergoing an abortion was six times higher than women receiving antenatal care. Northern Ireland’s laws protect both women and children from abortion. In the last 50 years, they have saved the lives of more than 100,000 babies." 

The committee report states on this matter:

"We consider it unacceptable that the people of Northern Ireland are denied the same level of protection in relation to domestic abuse as those elsewhere in the United Kingdom because of the lack of a Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.

"We understand and respect the devolution settlement, but in the absence of an executive we recommend that the provisions of the draft Bill be extended to Northern Ireland unless and until Northern Ireland enacts its own legislation in this area. The draft Bill should be amended to include a ‘sunset clause’ to this effect."

Mrs Tully said: "The Joint Committee Report is a setback for our opponents. But we need to remain more vigilant than ever as the ‘sunset’ clause cited above could be used by our opponents to press their advantage.

Notes to editors:

• Study cited: Wokoma TT, Jampala M, Bexhell H, Guthrie K & Lindow S (2014) A comparative study of the prevalence of domestic violence in women requesting a termination of pregnancy and those attending an antenatal clinic. BJOG 121:627-633. 

Contact Us

For further information, contact Antonia Tully, Campaign Director, SPUC on Mob: 07926 007175