Pro-abortion MP fails in attempt to remove all legal protection from babies in the womb
Precious Life welcome the defeat of Diana Johnson’s latest abortion amendment in Westminster. We sent out an ‘Action Alert’ urging people to contact their MPs and urge them to oppose her “New Clause 55”. We thank everyone who responded to our CALL TO ACTION.
The pro-abortion Labour MP failed in her attempt to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, and remove ALL legal protection from babies in the womb. Last week, she was attempting to hijack a Bill in Westminster by tabling an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Her abortion amendment - New Clause 55 – would have removed the sections of the "Offences Against the Person Act” that still give some protection to unborn babies in England and Wales. This would have been the biggest change to abortion legislation in England and Wales since 1967.
Even though the 1967 Abortion Act effectively legalised abortion for any reason – abortion still remains a criminal offence under the Offences Against The Person Act. The 1967 Act only gives doctors a defence for carrying out abortions, but legally, unborn babies do still have some protection. For example, an assailant who attacks a pregnant women causing the death of her unborn baby would be charged under the Offences Against The Person Act. Or an illegal abortion carried out by someone not covered by the 1967 Act is still a crime under the Offences Against The Person Act. Diana Johnson’s amendment would have allowed ANYONE to supply the means for an abortion without criminal sanction.
Tragically, unborn babies no longer have this protection in Northern Ireland. In 2019, pro-abortion Westminster MPs used this same “bill-hijacking” tactic to force abortion on Northern Ireland by adding an amendment to the Northern Ireland Executive Formation Act. Section 9 removed the Offences Against the Person Act that had protected unborn babies in Northern Ireland for over 150 years. Unborn babies are no longer recognised as ‘persons’ in Northern Ireland, which means any criminal can now kill a baby in the womb without charge.
We celebrate the pro-life victory over Diana Johnson's abortion amendment. And we continue in our fight to REPEAL Section 9 and RESTORE the PERSONHOOD of unborn babies in Northern Ireland.
