The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has called into question the credibility of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland after it announced yesterday that Dawn Purvis has been appointed as a Commissioner.
Liam Gibson, SPUC’s Northern Ireland representative, said:
"Many people will find the appointment of Dawn Purvis very worrying. Of course, she will be best known for her association with paramilitary groups. But her track record as the manager of the Marie Stopes International abortion facility in Belfast will also be a concern.
"When she was questioned by the Justice Committee about MSI's activities she refused point blank to provide the public authorities with any information of abortions carried out at her centre."
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a non departmental public body, with powers and duties relating to "providing protection against discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, race, religion and political opinion, sex and sexual orientation."
"The right to life is shared by all members of the family - equally," Mr Gibson continued. "Clearly, Ms Purvis does not recognise equality for unborn children. The rights of babies with disabilities in particular are often ignored in the Northern Ireland abortion debate. This appointment can only be seen in the light of the relentless drive to push an extreme abortion regime on the people of Northern Ireland.
"The appointment to a public body of someone with these kind of credibility issues can only damage the standing of the Equality Commission."
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