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Comments and thanks re HFE bill campaign
Thanksgiving for government climb-down over abortion amendments, but degrading and destructive embryology bill set to become law
Dear supporter,
The government's Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill has completed its final House of Commons stages, but thankfully none of the proposed abortion amendments succeeded - including efforts to widen the abortion law and extend it to Northern Ireland. For further explanation, please see:
Commons' approval of embryo bill is tragic http://www.spuc.org.uk/news/releases/2008/october22a
and
SPUC welcomes climbdown on extension of abortion law to Northern Ireland http://www.spuc.org.uk/news/releases/2008/october22
SPUC's national director, John Smeaton, paid tribute to all those who have played a part in the campaign against the bill. The past 18 months have seen a nationwide pro-life campaign of prayer, fasting, leafleting, letter-writing and lobbying.
John Smeaton said: "We are enormously grateful to people who have written to and telephoned their MPs, delivered leaflets, prayed, fasted and donated to the campaign against this bill. This has been a gruelling and drawn-out campaign - particularly against the pro-abortion amendments which have been hanging over us since the sudden postponement of the bill last July."
"Prior to that, church leaders and Northern Ireland MPs were lobbying Gordon Brown strongly against abortion amendments. The Glasgow East by-election was a possible reason for postponing debate on abortion amendments. But pro- and anti-abortion MPs fully expected the amendments, which could have led to higher abortion rates than ever, to be debated in the House of Commons.
"The exclusion of these amendments is a great tribute to all those activists, clergy and others who have kept up the pressure on MPs and the prime minister. For month after month, it seemed there was no hope of avoiding the raft of pro-abortion amendments which were tabled by pro-abortion MPs, who were emboldened by the defeat of time-limit proposals in May. But our thousands of loyal supporters stuck at it.
"Until a week ago, it appeared that the government was prepared to allow MPs to vote on these pro-abortion amendments. Last Thursday the first reports appeared suggesting that Gordon Brown was not minded to allow the abortion issue to be debated at all.
"Tragically the bill represents a major new attack on the dignity and lives of human embryos created by in vitro fertilisation. Its deadly provisions will cost the lives countless tiny human beings. However, we thank God, and all our supporters and co-workers, that the abortion law has not also been made worse."
The bill has to go back to the House of Lords, where peers can review the embryology amendments made in the Commons - and can try to lessen the damage of the bill - but do not have scope to defeat it.
