Pro-life organisations have expressed dismay following the launch of a campaign, led by the UK’s largest abortion provider, for the introduction of abortion on demand and up to birth in the UK.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, along with other pro-abortion organisations have launched a campaign entitled ‘We Trust Women’ which calls for the decriminalisation of abortion in the UK.
The campaign states: “In 2016, a woman who ends her own pregnancy without the permission of doctors can be sentenced to life in prison under legislation dating back to Victorian times. We believe that abortion should be taken out of the criminal law, through the removal of sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and equivalent common law offences in Scotland.
“No woman should face prison for inducing a miscarriage, and no doctor should be prosecuted for providing safe abortion care to a woman who requests it. We believe abortion should be governed by the same robust regulatory and ethical frameworks which govern all other medical procedures in the UK.
“In the 21st century we should be trusting women to make their own decisions about their own pregnancies, and removing the threat of prosecution from those healthcare professionals providing women with the services and support they need.
Following the announcement campaign group, Right to Life, issued a statement saying that the campaign was “hopelessly out of step with public opinion.” It added: “In October 2014, a ComRes poll found that 84% of people favoured a total and explicit ban on abortions based on the baby’s sex, including 85% of women. Another ComRes poll in March that same year found a similar figure, with 86% of people favouring a total ban (including 88% of women).
“This latter poll also found that 89% (92% of women) agreed that a woman requesting an abortion should always be seen in person by a qualified doctor, and 76% (78% of women) agreed that the health of women considering an abortion would be put at risk unless the doctors who sign abortion request forms had also seen the patient.”
Peter D Williams, executive officer of Right To Life, said: “The abortion lobby have demonstrated just how out-of-touch they are with science, medicine, and public opinion. The idea that abortion is just another medical procedure, and that it should be a free-for-all action outside of public ethical concerns is ludicrous. We need more and greater, not fewer and lesser, for unborn children and pregnant mothers.
“That is the trajectory of our culture, and this radical campaign simply shows how starkly society is moving beyond and away from abortion lobbyists’ inhumane ideology”.
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