PRESS RELEASE: Disgraceful Westminster abortion vote represents gravest attack on democracy in living memory

-- PRESS RELEASE --

Date: 18th July 2019

Precious Life have blasted Westminster MPs for today’s vote to impose abortion on Northern Ireland over the heads of the people here. This afternoon, Pro-abortion MPs shockingly voted in favour of extreme pro-abortion amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to legalise the killing of Northern Ireland’s defenceless unborn babies. MPs voted by a majority of 236 to strip unborn children of protection in law in Northern Ireland.

Bernadette Smyth, Director of Northern Ireland’s leading pro-life organisation, 

Precious Life, responded to this evening’s harrowing news: “Today represents one of the darkest and most tragic days for the people of Northern Ireland and for vulnerable unborn children and mothers here. This vote by pro-abortion MPs at Westminster is abhorrent for so many reasons; it is the gravest betrayal of democracy in living memory. This vote totally disregards the crucial principles of devolution and must be resisted at all costs. If this law comes into effect, it will ultimately remove all legal protection from unborn babies and their mothers here, decriminalising abortion and legalising the killing of unborn babies right up to birth."


Mrs Smyth continued, “The Westminster Government have done the unthinkable. No other Government in the world would dare to vote over the heads of another government and another country’s democratic process to completely ignore the democratic will of the people here. This Bill has been hijacked by abortion extremists to introduce an unthinkably cruel and extreme abortion law here if Stormont is not functioning by October 21st 2019 and we will not stand for this."

Explaining the impact such a law would have, Mrs Smyth stated, "If passed, this Bill will introduce one of the most horrific, extreme and cruel abortion laws in the world, making abortion legal on demand right through to 28 weeks of pregnancy. This cruel and devastating abortion agenda is not supported by the people of Northern Ireland, and what is certain is that we will now see an enormous level of resistance to such a horrendous agenda.”

Further, Mrs Smyth said: “Precious Life stress that the people of Northern Ireland will rise up against such an undemocratic, disgraceful and cruel decision by British MPs who have absolutely no mandate to speak for the people of Northern Ireland. As Northern Ireland's largest pro-life organisation, we know that there is absolutely no on-the-ground demand for abortion here. In recent years, Precious Life have collected up to 300,000 petitions from people here opposing any change to our pro-life laws, yet their voices are being completely ignored and disrespected.

"The electorate here have persistently defended the lives of our most vulnerable, voting consistently for pro-life politicians for so many years in the face of a broken culture of death in Britain. Precious Life call on the pro-life majority of Northern Ireland to rise up in opposition to this stripping of their most fundamental rights.”

Mrs Smyth concluded, “The onus is now on Sinn Féin and the DUP to get our Government up and running by October 21st to ensure that this abhorrent attack on our democracy is resisted. Rest assured that we will not take this heinous decision lying down and we will fight tirelessly and lobby our elected representatives to ensure that we have a life-affirming Government which properly represents the people here in place as soon as possible. Precious Life will be launching a huge 'Fight-Back Campaign' in response to this bitter attack on the people of Northern Ireland and unborn babies and mothers here. We will not stand for this tyrannical and blood-thirsty attack on Northern Ireland’s unborn children, on our democracy and the principles of devolution.”

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