“Amnesty Needs to Respect Democracy”
Amnesty International claims that the results of its latest survey “demonstrate an overwhelming demand” for legalised abortion in cases of rape, incest and when an unborn child has been diagnosed with a life-limiting disability in Northern Ireland. But such a claim is “simply not true”, says Bernadette Smyth, director of Precious life, the leading pro-life group in Northern Ireland.
“A measly percentage of a sample group of 1000 people does not represent the views of the people of Northern Ireland. The latest opinion poll by Amnesty International shows that this so-called ‘human rights group’ has no regard for the democratic process that respects and upholds the views of the pro-life people of Northern Ireland.
“The results of the last Northern Ireland Assembly Election in May 2016 showed that the majority of people of Northern Ireland vote for pro-life politicians who they entrust to defend our pro-life laws and defend the right to life of all unborn children, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or circumstance of conception,” says Bernadette Smyth.
“The people of Northern Ireland have repeatedly told the Northern Ireland Assembly that abortion will never be in their name. In 2013, 250,000 petitions were presented to Stormont calling for the closure of the Marie Stopes centre in Belfast in 2013. In September 2014, 35,000 petitions were presented in support of an amendment which sought to close the Marie Stopes centre in Belfast.
“Let’s not forget that, most recently, over 99% of the responses to David Ford MLA’s consultation on changing the law to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, and when a baby had been diagnosed with a life-limiting disability were opposed to any change in the law. In April 2015 it was revealed that of the 25,320 responses to the consultation, 25,140 opposed the legalisation of abortion in cases where an unborn child has been diagnosed with a life-limiting disability. Compare this overwhelming figure with the 600 people in Amnesty’s survey who said they support the legalised killing of unborn babies with life-limiting disabilities. Opinion polls by Amnesty International cannot and should not be taken seriously.
“Amnesty International uses these opinion polls in attempt to override the united and unyielding conviction of the people of Northern Ireland that every human being, born or unborn, has an unconditional right to life. But Amnesty International can’t be taken seriously; it is an organisation claiming to be a ‘human rights group’ while campaigning for the legalised destruction of unborn children,” concludes Bernadette Smyth.