Image Source: Shutterstock | Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall is set to be illuminated in support of an international pro-abortion campaign next month, despite opposition from pro-life groups and the DUP, who say the landmark should not be used to promote an issue that disregards the unborn child.
Belfast City Council voted to illuminate City Hall green on 28 September to mark International Safe Abortion Day. Councillors reportedly proceeded directly to a vote without debating the proposal.
The DUP was the sole dissenting voice on the relevant committee, while Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Alliance, and the Green Party backed the illumination.
International Safe Abortion Day is promoted by the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights. Its demands include increasing abortion time limits, and removing measures it describes as barriers, including mandatory waiting periods, counselling requirements, and third-party authorisations—all of which have been proven to save the lives of children.
The campaign also calls on international institutions to increase funding for abortion provision and provide money to feminist and other activist organisations.
DUP group leader Councillor Sarah Bunting criticised the decision, arguing that the language of “safe abortion” ignores the unborn child whose life is ended.
“Abortion is not safe for the unborn child whose life is ended, and that fundamental truth should not be lost behind the language being used to promote this campaign. International Safe Abortion Day is a contradiction,” she said.
Bunting also criticised the absence of debate before the vote.
“Belfast City Hall belongs to everyone and should not be used as a billboard to promote one side of such a campaign,” she said.
Precious Life Director Bernadette Smyth also condemned the decision, saying the landmark “belongs to all the people of Belfast” and should not become “a billboard to promote one side of a deeply divisive moral and political issue.”
She also stressed the need to provide alternatives for women facing difficult pregnancies.
“Women facing an unexpected pregnancy deserve compassion, practical support and hope, not abortion presented as the answer,” Smyth said.
Precious Life is calling on Belfast City Council to reject the illumination and maintain the neutrality of one of the city’s most prominent civic landmarks.
“City Hall should be a symbol of Belfast, not a billboard for abortion,” Smyth concluded.
SPUC’s Executive Director Michael Robinson added: “For a long time Northern Ireland was the only safe haven for the unborn child in the United Kingdom. Sly and opportunistic politicians put that to an end in 2019. Still, abortion is a contentious issue in the nation, with it being the most pro-life part of the Union. The slaughter of children is not an issue that unites Belfast, and it is a disgrace that public money is being used to pretend it does. Parties like Sinn Féin and the SDLP, who claim to be the parties of Catholics, have ignored their roots and now revel in the death of children.”
