Abortion consultation showed that most people in Northern Ireland agree life is sacred

A letter from Gordon McNeill:
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

Sandra Chapman in her column last Saturday (‘Abortion is still a very difficult issue in Northern Ireland’, November 6) wrote “as we count down to Christmas, which has at its heart a baby born to parents too poor to provide a proper home for it”.

In the Bible. Joseph and Mary had a home in Nazareth. They were only in Bethlehem obeying an order to fulfil a census, and the town was full of people on the same mission. This was not some poor family who couldn’t afford their child a proper home.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In concluding her article she then says “can a young up and coming society, where everyone is expected to work and pay tax, change, virtually overnight, in order to fulfil the values of a minority, whose religious credentials dictate how they live?”.

But at the public consultation on relaxing the abortion laws, the vast majority of respondents, of all religions and none, made clear their belief that life is sacred, whether that life is inconvenient to the mother or not.

This is not a matter of a few ‘Bible-thumpers’ dictating government policy. Mothers and fathers have always had to work, to pay tax, but also to raise their families in a loving home environment. Not to have their childrens’ lives ended in the womb in a cold and heartless manner.

Gordon McNeill, Portadown

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor