Bishops of Northern Ireland
contest new abortion law
 |
| Anti-abortion campaigners gather with placards, Northern Ireland, October 2019 (AFP) |
Bishops of Northern Ireland call on Members of their
Assembly to oppose new abortion regulations introduced by the Westminster Parliament.
By Vatican News
In a letter addressed to the Members of the Northern
Ireland Legislative Assembly (MLA), the country’s Bishops express their concern
over the "extreme" nature of Wetminster’s Regulations regarding a new
law decriminalising abortion in Northern Ireland.
Ahead of the debate, taking place on Tuesday in the Northern
Ireland Legislative Assembly, the Bishops open their letter by saying that as
the Catholic Bishops of Northern Ireland, they have a responsibility to do all
they can “to promote a culture of care and respect for life in our society”.
They explain that this includes “a responsibility to inform
the conscience of all members of the Catholic Church and people of good will
regarding the fundamental moral values at stake in the issue of
abortion”.
The Bishops explain that their opposition to the new
abortion regulations brought into effect in their country by the Westminster
Parliament “is rooted in the Catholic Church’s teaching concerning the dignity
of every human life, regardless of age, ability, gender or background”.
This teaching, they explain, “prohibits the direct and deliberate
intention to end the life of an unborn baby at any stage of his or her
development”.
The Bishops urge the Members of the Assembly to "take
steps to formulate new Regulations that will reflect more fully the will of a
significant majority of the people in this jurisdiction to protect the lives of
mothers and their unborn children”.
The letter underlines the "extreme nature" of
Westminster's provisions, which extends the possibility of abortion to cases
where there are no lethal malformations for the fetus, such as Down's Syndrome.
It is for this reason that the Bishops make an urgent call “to defend the equal
right of children with disabilities to appropriate protection and care both
before and after birth, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”.
Finally, the Bishops reiterate their belief that
“politicians and all people of good will, who recognise the extreme nature of
the Regulations, should not meekly acquiesce to their promulgation”. They call
for urgent action, expressing their desire to enter into dialogue with MLAs and
reaffirming their willingness to contribute to the formulation of the new
Regulations.
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