Bernie Smyth Hopes Pro-Life Clinic Can Replace Marie Stopes
14/10/15 Belfast Newsletter
Pro-life US congressman Chris Smith opened the new Stanton Healthcare facility at Great Victoria Street on Monday.
Director of anti-abortion group Precious Life, Bernie Smyth, who attended the opening and said she sits on the board of Stanton Healthcare, said: “Its long-term plan is to have ‘in-house’ ultrasound services and an expanded team of counsellors and healthcare professionals.”
Mrs Smyth – who in December was sentenced to 100 hours’ community service and given a five-year order restraining her from harassing Dawn Purvis, who was then director of the Marie Stopes clinic, but later won an appeal against the conviction – said “one of the reasons we opened Stanton this week was to impact Marie Stopes’ third anniversary of being in Belfast”.
“Our long-term plan is to replace Marie Stopes with a life-affirming centre where we support women in crisis pregnancies free of charge,” she added.
“This is a city centre location in between Marie Stopes and the Family Planning Association.
“We hope to guide women to free help and support by coming to Stanton rather than going to an abortion centre.”
Mrs Smyth said she “hoped to see women starting to come through the doors of Stanton when word about its services gets out”.
She added they were also planning to have a satellite clinic in Londonderry as well as resource centres in other parts of Northern Ireland. “I will not be working in Stanton, but I am supporting it as a revolution in pregnancy crisis health care,” she said.
Stanton Healthcare’s Belfast clinic is their first facility outside the USA.