"Both Lives Matter" MPs Told

A number of brave and decent British MPs have spoken in defence of the unborn and the welfare of expectant mothers in the UK Parliament.

During a Westminster Hall debate triggered by a petition demanding that abortion be decriminalised, it was pointed out that such a move risks a significant rise in the number of unborn children being aborted and would endanger women’s health.

In Great Britain, abortion is currently permitted for most reasons up to 24 weeks, and up to birth if the unborn child is deemed to have a disability. Inducing a miscarriage outside of the exemptions remains a crime, punishable by up to life in prison, though convictions are rare and have only resulted in very short sentences.

The architect of Westminster’s assisted suicide Bill, Kim Leadbeater, welcomes the baby-killing proposal, arguing: “Whatever stage we are at in our lives, it is important that we are allowed to make choices about our own bodies, free from the fear of criminalisation or judgment”.

However, many MPs opposed a change to the law, including Independent MP Alex Easton, who said the public wanted tighter controls on abortion, not further liberalisation.

He explained: “Polling by Savanta ComRes, a highly respected polling company, has shown that 70% of women support a reduction in the abortion time limit, and 91% want an explicit ban on sex-selective abortions.”

Father of the House,  Sir Edward Leigh, warned that if the proposals go ahead “it becomes possible to have an abortion at home up to birth”. That, he said, would surely “endanger women’s health.”