“Kill the Bill, Not the Child,” says Precious Life’s Bernadette Smyth
Former Justice Minister and Alliance Leader David Ford MLA’s Private Member’s Bill which seeks to legalise abortion in cases of so called “fatal foetal abnormality” has reached the floor of the Northern Ireland Assembly today.
Bernadette Smyth, the director of Precious Life, responded to the new development:
“Firstly, healthcare professionals and the media must stop using this offensive term “fatal foetal abnormality”. It is not a medical diagnosis and cannot be defined. It is a term used by the pro-abortion lobby to dehumanise little unborn babies with disabilities. By using this term, healthcare professionals and the media and pro-abortion Assembly Members like David Ford are inciting fear, despair, and, ultimately, death.
“To be clear, no healthcare professional can determine that an unborn child will certainly die before, during, or immediately after birth. David Ford knows this. He wants to give unfettered discretion to doctors to determine whether an unborn child’s life is worth living.
“If passed, this Bill would open the door to the killing of unborn children with life-limiting disabilities right up to the moment of birth. That is why the pro-life majority in Northern Ireland are calling on the Northern Ireland Assembly to ‘Kill the Bill, Not the Child’,” says Bernadette Smyth.
Bernadette Smyth then presented evidence of the views of the pro-life majority in Northern Ireland.
“By bringing forward this Bill, David Ford has completely ignored that over 99% of the responses to his consultation in October 2014 on changing the law to allow abortion of unborn babies with life-limiting disabilities opposed any change in the law. Over 300,000 pro-life petitions were delivered to Stormont Parliament Buildings on Tuesday 22nd November 2016.
“Finally, only 1000 people were asked to take part in Amnesty’s opinion polls. Amnesty’s claim that 67% of people in Northern Ireland believe abortion should be legalised when an unborn baby has been diagnosed with a life-limiting disability is just nonsense. The overwhelming number of pro-life petitions presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 22nd November put those opinion polls to shame.
“The message is very clear: the people of Northern Ireland are opposed to any change in the law. We are calling on our government to protect unborn children and their mothers from abortion: ‘Kill the Bill, Not the Child’,” concludes Bernadette Smyth.
Media Links: