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NRL News
British
Parliament Votes Anti-Life on Abortion and Embryology Great Britain is nearing the end of its first major reconsideration of abortion since 1990. Results to date are grim. British members of Parliament (MPs) have rejected almost all pro-life amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) bill, which would also impact abortion law. So far, they refused to lower the uppermost age at which abortions can be performed from 24 weeks, approved the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos, and rejected limits on the creation of “saviour siblings.” Consideration of the bill continues as NRL News goes to press. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has urged right to lifers to communicate with their representatives and stop the pro-abortion tide. “Pro-lifers must now redouble their efforts to stop pro-abortion amendments being incorporated into the government’s embryo bill at its report stage,” Anthony Ozimic, SPUC political secretary, said in a press release. “These amendments may include removing the requirement for two doctors to certify medical grounds for an abortion, and promoting nurses as abortion practitioners. More babies will die if such amendments are passed.” Amendments to lower the 24-week limit failed May 20, according to the Guardian. The closest vote was on an amendment to reduce the limit to 22 weeks, which was defeated on a 304–233 vote. Other proposals for 12, 16, and 20 weeks also failed by larger margins. (In addition to abortion on demand up to 24 weeks, the British law has various loopholes that allow abortions virtually until birth if the child is suffering from a “disability.”) Pro-life MPs strongly criticized the fact that although medical technology has advanced so much that premature babies below 24 weeks have survived, babies the same age can still be aborted for any reason. “We have in this country a situation in which you can have two children, of exactly the same age and gestation—exactly the same—and one is in a cot with all the resources of medical science being poured into saving it and the other is quite deliberately being taken from the womb and destroyed,” said MP Ann Widdecombe, the Herald reported. “That is moral anarchy.” On the same day, an amendment to ban research that creates embryos by mixing human and animal genetic material also failed, on a 336–176 vote. The current HFE bill allows such embryos to be created as long as they are destroyed by 14 days. This is “a step too far,” Tory MP Edward Leigh told the Daily Express. “In terms of embryonic research we will almost be like a rogue state.” MPs also rejected an amendment banning the creation of “saviour siblings,” children conceived specifically to treat a brother or sister’s illness. Parents were even given the power to choose between several embryos, giving life to only one thought to be the best match, according to Press Association News. An amendment against such a practice failed 342 votes to 163. Debate continues in Parliament on the bill. Amendments still to be considered include one to allow researchers to harvest tissue from cadavers to clone human embryonic stem cells, according to the Sunday Times. The measure would waive current law that requires explicit consent from the donor before tissue could be harvested. British pro-lifers are urging MPs to vote against the final bill. “The HFE bill seeks to implement a string of changes that will mean more embryos will be generated but given less respect and protection than ever,” Ozimic said. “Those MPs who until now have been unsure whether or not to vote against the bill must now realise that the bill cannot be made less unethical. The only option for MPs who are concerned about the protection of human life and dignity is to take decisive action to scupper the bill. For the sake of future generations MPs must stand up against this government’s abhorrent legislation.” |