Pro-life campaigners gather outside UK parliament to commemorate abortion ‘crisis’

Pro-life campaigners from across the UK gathered outside the Palace of Westminster in Parliament Square today to commemorate the 9,563,907* lives lost since the passing of the Abortion Act, which happened 53 years ago on 27 October 1967.

The event, which was organised by March for Life UK, included a live display of people, ranging in age from one to 53 years old, holding signs revealing the total number of abortions performed in the calendar year they were born.  

March for Life UK Directors Ben Thatcher and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce said the idea behind the pro-life demonstration was to give a face to the 9,563,907 lives lost to abortion over the past 53 years.

Isabel said: “Each of these individuals was more than just a number but was an irreplaceable human being.”

She called for more to be done to offer pregnant women who are vulnerable practical help, love and support, adding that “abortion has not solved the crisis” but is the crisis.

Continuous rise

Since the passing of the Abortion Act, there has been an almost continuous year-on-year rise in the number of abortions in England & Wales and Scotland.

In 1969, the first full calendar year abortion was legal, there were 54,819 terminations in England & Wales and 3,556 in Scotland.

Back in 2007, when the number of abortions reached 205,598 in England & Wales and 13,778 in Scotland, the architect of the Abortion Act, Lord Steel, admitted that he never anticipated “‘anything like’ the current number of terminations”.

Yet the number of abortions is still increasing.

In 2019, the number of abortions in England & Wales reached an all-time high of 209,519, while the number of terminations performed in Scotland was the second-highest on record at 13,583.

Unfortunately, this pattern of ever-rising abortion numbers could continue in the future, following the introduction of an extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland and policy changes allowing for ‘DIY’ home abortions across England, Scotland and Wales.

New and radical abortion legislation in Northern Ireland, imposed upon them by the Government in Westminster, allows abortion-on-demand up to 24 weeks and disability-selective abortion right up to birth – including for Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot.

Earlier this month, it was revealed 664 terminations have already taken place under the new regime despite the fact the Northern Ireland Department of Health has not officially commissioned abortion ‘services’.

Meanwhile, the introduction of ‘DIY’ home abortion schemes across Great Britain has coincided with record-high abortion numbers in England and Wales.

Abortion statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care show that 109,836 abortions were performed for English and Welsh residents in the 6 months between 1 January and 30 June 2020. This is 4,296 higher than a six-month average of 105,540 in 2019.

‘Monstrous figure’

Three years ago, Lord Alton of Liverpool marked the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act by saying the number of abortions being performed was ‘a monstrous figure’.

Hundreds of pro-life campaigners listened to the pro-life peer as he condemned the “willful killing of the smallest and most helpless member of the human family in the very place she should be safest – her mother’s womb”.

He said: “What we mark today, is nothing less than the greatest shame of our nation. The fact that we neuter the protections in our laws for our tiniest countrymen and countrywomen is a horror and disgrace on a massive scale.

“We are here to signify that we are not going away, that we are not going to remain quiet while injustice occurs and we are not going to stop working and educating and championing and fighting until we live in a society where the humanity, dignity and the rights of every member of our nation are together recognised.”

‘National Tragedy’ 

A spokesperson for Right to Life UK, Catherine Robinson said: 

“The UK’s abortion law is failing both women and unborn babies. It is a national tragedy that 9,563,907 lives have been lost since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act, each one a valuable human being who was denied the right to life.

“Every one of these abortions represents a failure of our society to protect the lives of babies in the womb and a failure to offer full support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

“We are always looking at how we can save more lives by ensuring that protections for unborn babies are introduced and safeguards are strengthened to protect both mothers and babies.”

*This figure is a projection for England, Wales and Scotland through to midnight on 27/10/20 and has been calculated based on the following assumptions:

• The number of abortions per day in England & Wales will remain the same in 2020 as in 2019.
• The number of abortions per day in Scotland will remain the same in 2020 as in 2019.
• The rate of abortions throughout the year is evenly distributed.
• Please note, figures have been released for the number of abortions through to June 2020. We have not used this published data in our modelling as it only provides data for the first half of the year, which is unreliable for making a prediction due to possible seasonal variation. We have not included data for abortions that have occurred in Northern Ireland in 2020 because it has not been made clear on which day abortions began being performed in Northern Ireland and it is therefore unreliable to model a projection for the remainder of the year using this.

This is a Righttolife.org.uk opinion piece

Ref: https://righttolife.org.uk/news/pro-life-campaigners-gather-outside-uk-parliament-to-commemorate-abortion-crisis/ 

Amy Coney Barrett sworn in as Supreme Court justice at White House

Barrett’s confirmation solidified a conservative majority on the high court

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, fresh off her confirmation to serve as an associate justice on the nation’s highest court, took her constitutional oath on Monday at the White House.

The Supreme Court said in a press release that Barrett will be able to start her new role after Chief Justice John Roberts administers her judicial oath on Tuesday. Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath at Monday’s ceremony.

Thomas has long been considered one of the more conservative justices on the court, along with Barrett’s mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Echoing her mentor, Barrett underscored the need for a separation of powers between the judicial and legislative branches.

“It is the job of a senator to pursue her policy preferences,” Barrett said to an audience on the South Lawn of the White House. “In fact, it would be a dereliction of duty for her to put policy goals aside. By contrast, it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. It would be a dereliction of duty for her to give into them. Federal judges don’t stand for election. Thus, they have no basis for claiming that their preferences reflect those of the people.”

CNN, MSNBC SKIP HISTORIC SENATE VOTE CONFIRMING AMY CONEY BARRETT TO SUPREME COURT

The separation of duty is what makes the judiciary distinct, she said.

“A judge declares independence not only from Congress and the president, but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her,” she said.

The Senate confirmed Barrett with a 52-48 vote. All 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats opposed her confirmation.

Controversial from the start, her confirmation prompted a wave of backlash on Monday. Almost immediately after the Senate voted, Democratic lawmakers panned the decision while some called demanded leaders “expand the court.”

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY LAUDS BARRETT SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION AS ‘VICTORY FOR OUR FOUNDERS’

Barrett’s confirmation solidified a conservative majority on the nation’s highest court, and gave Trump another victory as he headed into election day.

Whoever wins on Nov. 3 will likely have major consequences on the Supreme Court as an American institution. Former Vice President Joe Biden has mostly refused to answer questions about whether he would pack the courts.

On Monday, Biden said that he might be open to shifting Supreme Court justices to lower courts if elected president, noting that he hadn’t made any judgment yet on the issue.

“There is some literature among constitutional scholars about the possibility of going from one court to another court, not just always staying the whole time in the Supreme Court but I have made no judgment,” Biden said at a campaign stop in Chester, Pa.

AMY CONEY BARRETT CONFIRMED TO SUPREME COURT, ‘SQUAD’ MEMBERS CALL FOR EXPANDING THE BENCH

He went on to say that “there are just a group of serious constitutional scholars, have a number of ideas how we should proceed from this point on.”

“That’s what we’re going to be doing. We’re going to give them 180 days God-willing if I’m elected, from the time I’m sworn in to be able to make such a recommendation.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

During an interview with “60 Minutes,” Biden said he would set up a commission that would make recommendations for reforming the court system. 

“I will ask them to, over 180 days, come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it’s getting out of whack,” he said.

 This is a foxnews.com opinion piece

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Ref: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/amy-coney-barrett-sworn-in-as-supreme-court-associated-justice-at-white-house-ceremony

UK MPs fear prenatal testing will result in discriminatory abortions against babies with Down’s syndrome

Politicians fear the roll-out of prenatal tests for Down’s syndrome across England, Wales and Scotland will result in discriminatory abortions of babies with the condition.

In a debate, commemorating Down’s Syndrome Awareness Month, DUP MP Jim Shannon expressed concern that the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome has fallen by 30% in NHS hospitals that have introduced the new non-invasive prenatal tests.

In recent months, the health services in England & Wales and Scotland have announced their intention to roll-out the new tests across all NHS hospitals. 

Jim Shannon believes this is putting the UK on the path to the situation in other countries, where almost 100% babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome are aborted, which is “chilling to the core”.

Outdated and negative views

Sharing in his trepidation, SNP MP Dr Lisa Cameron echoed the comments of Stacey Corrigan, whose six-year-old son, Daniel Murray, has Down’s syndrome.

Stacey had told the Daily Record that the current advice given to parents expecting a baby with Down’s syndrome is both “outdated” and “negative”.

“More often than not the termination is booked at that appointment with the parents are still in shock with the diagnosis,” she added.

The Scottish mother believes pregnant women deserve to be better informed and supported.

Dr Lisa Cameron said a “more comprehensive and accurate narrative needs to be provided,” recognising the richness and diversity of the Down’s syndrome community across the UK.

Parents under pressure to terminate pregnancies

Stacey isn’t the first mother to express concern over the negative advice given to her following a prenatal diagnosis of Down’s syndrome.

A recent report revealed that pregnant mothers who refuse to abort their children with Down’s syndrome are being pressured by some medical professionals to change their decision.

One mother, whose child is now three-years-old, said medical professionals told her they could leave her baby with Down’s syndrome to die if it was struggling after birth.

Another mum told how even at 38 weeks pregnant she was being offered an abortion.

Time for positive conversations about Down’s syndrome

Picking up on these concerns, Rachel Maskell encouraged the present Minister for Health, Helen Whately, to “go away and look again at the conversations that are had with parents who are diagnosed in pregnancy with somebody with Down’s syndrome and see how we can change that conversation, so that people can understand the positivity of bringing up a child and raising someone into adulthood with Down’s syndrome?”

In response, the Health Minister said: “it is absolutely the case that if, during pregnancy, any abnormality is detected or suspected there should at no stage be any bias towards abortion.”

Concluding the short debate, she added: “It is crucial that we should celebrate the achievements and contributions of those with Down’s syndrome to our society, so we have been and are taking action to support those with disabilities, including Down’s syndrome, but I believe that we can always do more and go further. So I say, let’s do that. Let’s do more and go further to support people with Down’s syndrome to achieve their dreams.”

Earlier this month, Dr Lisa Cameron launched an Early Day Motion celebrating the contribution people with Down’s syndrome bring to communities, families, workplaces and society at large.

Scale of Down’s syndrome abortions

There were 3,183 disability selective abortions across England & Wales in 2019, with 656 of those occurring following a prenatal diagnosis of Down’s syndrome. 

However, the figures are likely to be much higher.

In a 2013 review on disability-selective abortions, it was revealed 886 babies were aborted for Down’s syndrome in England and Wales in 2010, but only 482 of these were reported in official Department of Health records.

The underreporting was confirmed in 2014 in a Department of Health review.

There has also been an increase in the number of abortions of babies prenatally diagnosed with Down’s syndrome since the introduction of new prenatal screening tests.

Figures published last year show that the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome in the UK has dropped by 30% in NHS hospitals that have introduced the new non-invasive prenatal tests.

The figures prompted Down’s syndrome advocates to ask the Government to halt the roll-out of the new tests and undertake an inquiry into the impact that the tests are having on the birth numbers of babies with Down’s syndrome.

However, their pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears, as the Government recently announced that it will be proceeding with the procurement and rollout of a nationwide prenatal testing scheme for Down’s syndrome – something which will likely lead to an increase of babies with the condition being aborted.

‘Screening out’ babies with Down’s syndrome seen as ‘cash cow’

Earlier this year a spokesperson for a Chinese biotech firm declared “screening out” babies with Down’s syndrome is a “cash cow” funding the growth of the whole business.

The admission came from a spokesperson for BGI Group – a Chinese genetics conglomerate whose main business is offering non-invasive prenatal tests, primarily used to diagnose Down’s syndrome. 

In a segment from an Aljazeera documentary titled Genesis 2.0, the spokesperson gestures towards a digital map of the world and says: “You can see clearly, especially for Down’s syndrome, we have nearly two million samples all over the world. This part is, what we call, BGI’s cash cow, making money to support the growth of the whole group.”

Dismissing a query over potential ethical concerns, she coldly adds: “…with the use of our technology, we could avoid the birth of birth defect, like a Down’s syndrome birth, a Down’s syndrome child, we can screen them out, we can avoid the birth of them.”

Legal challenge

This week it was announced that The High Court in London will hear a landmark case against the UK Government over the country’s discriminatory abortion legislation.

Currently in England, Scotland and Wales, the law singles out babies with disabilities such as cleft lip and club foot and Down’s syndrome and allows terminations right up to the point of birth. However, there is a 24-week time limit for most abortions that are carried out when a baby does not have a disability.

Heidi Carter, a 25-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome, and Máire Lea-Wilson, whose sixteen-month-old son Aidan also has the condition, both believe this is “deeply offensive” and have joined forces to challenge the law.