Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues, states he is “deeply alarmed” by two pro-abortion amendments proposed for the Criminal Justice Bill, to be debated next week on 15 May. “Relaxing abortion legislation further would be a tragic mistake for both mother and child.”
Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster Bishop Sherrington’s statement criticised two pro-abortion amendments that would remove all legal protections for unborn children and their mothers:
“I am deeply alarmed by two amendments to the same Bill, one of which is proposed by Dame Diana Johnson MP… This amendment, if passed, will remove any legal protection for unborn babies when a woman seeks to bring about her own abortion at any stage of pregnancy…
“The second amendment by Stella Creasy MP… includes proposals to decriminalise abortion up to the 24th week for any party involved and carries similar threats to pregnant women and their unborn babies.”
Bishop Sherrington, however, voiced his support for two other amendments, one by Sir Liam Fox MP who proposes to end the abortion of babies with Down’s syndrome up until the point of birth, and the other by Caroline Ansell MP whose amendment would reduce the overall abortion time limit to 22 weeks.
Bishop Sherrington concluded his statement by stating: “Both unborn child and pregnant mother deserve full protection under our laws, as some of the most vulnerable in our society. I encourage people to contact their MPs to make their views clear on these amendments.”
You can contact your MP about these amendments click here. Sign up to SPUC’s email list click here to get further updates on how to campaign with SPUC.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “These two amendments pose the greatest threat to unborn children and their mothers since the 1967 Abortion Act.
“It is therefore vital that SPUC supporters and concerned citizens alike contact their MPs within the next few days to voice their opposition against these appalling amendments that would effectively decriminalise abortion and bring about an abortion Wild West.
“Vulnerable mothers and their unborn children have never been so threatened by such reckless legislation. Now is the time to click here.”
