Presbyterians and Methodists express deep disappointment at defeat of abortion amendment bill

Earlier this week MLAs voted by a narrow margin against the DUP’s Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill.

Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), Right Reverend Dr David Bruce, said that the rejection of the bill “sends a profound message about the value that is placed on all human life”.

Dr Bruce commented: “We are deeply disappointed that this legislation was rejected by a very narrow majority of MLAs. The bill sought to provide protection for children where there is a diagnosis of non-fatal disability before birth, including conditions like Down Syndrome.

“We recognise [it] is a setback in realising parity of esteem and equality for unborn babies diagnosed with non-fatal disabilities, and protecting their rights as has been policy for political representatives here in the past.

“The decision by MLAs sends a profound message to society about the value that is placed on all human life. Within PCI we affirm that all human life has value and dignity, because of our belief that we are all made in the image of God. We believe that our worth and identify derives from this principle, rather than a subjective judgement about quality of life, and the ability to make a contribution to wider society.”

The Methodist Church’s chair of the Council on Social Responsibility, Rev Dr David Clements, said: “Like all our sister churches we greatly lamented the introduction from Westminster, over the heads of our devolved democracy, possibly the most liberal abortion legislation in Europe. The bill introduced by Paul Givan was a small row-back from the legislation imposed on us, attempting to prevent late termination of babies with non-fatal disabilities such as Down’s syndrome or cleft lip.

“We are deeply disappointed with the result of this vote and wonder what message it sends out about the value of life.”

“Over recent decades much progress has been made in protecting people with a disability from discrimination. It seems now that the one place a person with disability can legally experience the most drastic discrimination is in the womb, right up until birth.”

——— ———

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.

With the coronavirus lockdown having 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 https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions 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