Urge preservation of the sanctity and dignity of human life, especially at its beginning and end, and oppose extension of individual freedoms and rights in the practice of abortion and euthanasia.
This recommendation could not be more pertinent than it is at present, with the forthcoming Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [1] about to be passed through the House of Commons. It has already nearly finished passing through the House of Lords. Under this Bill, the abortion laws could be liberalised further, animal/human hybrid embryos will be allowed to be created for experimentation, embryos will increasingly be allowed to be used in stem cell research even if alternatives are available and “the need for a Father” will be removed from law and birth certificates. These are drastic steps to be taking; surely if there has ever been a time to urge for the preservation, sanctity and dignity of human life, it is now.
Such has been the concern about this Bill, that the All-Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, of which many Christian MPs are members, have formed the Passion for Lifetour and have been touring the country presenting and explaining the Bill and their concerns relating to it, making people aware of the issues involved and mobilising people to respond and write to their MP. As Christians, if we believe that all people are created in God’s image, then surely these issues should be of utmost importance to us. These are issues that require Christians to be proactive, to campaign and to lobby the government, precisely what the All Parliamentary Pro-Life Group are encouraging people to do. More details about the tour can be found at www.passionforlife.org.uk.The website includes suggestions of how to act, who to write to and how and what exactly they are campaigning for regarding each issue.
Abortion is not specifically mentioned in the Bill, but because it replaces the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990, which made some significant changes to the Abortion Act of 1967, the new Bill could potentially open up the entire Abortion Act for possible amendment. At present, there are around 200,000 abortions in the UK every year – that’s nearly 60 a day. In particular, Pro-Choice groups want to see the removal of the requirement of two doctors to sign for an abortion, the removal of the right of doctors and midwives to conscientiously object to arranging or performing an abortion and that the 24 week upper limit for abortion for social reasons should not be lowered, even though there is now much clearer evidence that a child can survive outside the womb if born at 24 weeks or earlier.
In addition to the Passion for Life Tour, many Christian groups are involved in campaigning on these issues on an ongoing basis, in a coalition of organisations that make up the Alive and Kicking Campaign[2], including CARE, Christian Medical Fellowship, the Evangelical Alliance, ProLife Allianceand Lawyers Christian Fellowship. Alive and Kickingis campaigning for a reduction in the upper limit for abortions, eliminating discrimination of abortion of disabled babies up to birth, prohibiting abortion for social convenience and ensuring that the laws introduced in 1967 are implemented as they were intended to be used. To ensure that women understand the choice they are making, they are also calling for a cooling off period between diagnosis of pregnancy and access to abortion, for women to be informed properly about the medical and psychological risks associated with abortion and for increased support for families with disabled children. It always strikes me as somewhat ironic that many so-called Pro-Choice groups are in fact anti women being given information about the medical and psychological risks associated with abortion: surely being pro-choice means that choices should be made with the most comprehensive understanding possible of exactly what that particular choice may involve? Alive and Kickingcontinuously seek to raise awareness of these issues and to petition and lobby the government about them.
As mentioned, CAREis a member of the Alive and Kickingcoalition and as well as campaigning the government to urge for the preservation and sanctity of human life and opposing extension of the abortion laws, they also seek to help women facing unplanned pregnancies in a highly practical way, running a network of pregnancy crisis centres, CareConfidential.[3] The centres recognise that it is no good just telling a woman facing a crisis situation that she should have respect for human life, but that she will need practical help if she decides to go ahead with the pregnancy. The centres aim to try and encourage women to consider options open to them other than abortion, but if a woman decides she really does want to go ahead with the decision, rather than judging her they offer comprehensive post-abortion counselling.
At the other end of the spectrum, CAREand CMFare also concerned and involved with issues surrounding euthanasia [4]. They offer resources to people wishing to find out more about the issues, providing briefing papers, fact sheets and encouraging people to take action as well as lobbying the government on these issues. Perhaps, with abortion being an issue high up on the political agenda it is easy to forget issues such as euthanasia, but part of calling for the sanctity and dignity of human life has to also mean being aware of issues towards the end of life, being well informed and being willing to act if and when necessary. In particular, CAREhave been involved in supporting a Bill on palliative care [5], ensuring proper provisions are made to care for people who are suffering from terminal illnesses, a practical way of ensuring that euthanasia should never be a necessity.
It is often easy to think that because there are Christian organisations out there concerned about these issues and lobbying the government about them, there is little need for ordinary people to actually act. Yet just talking about these issues and being aware of them, although important, is not sufficient in itself. Urging the preservation of the sanctity and dignity of human life means acting, not just talking and not just sitting back and letting other organisations get on with the work. The Passion for LifeTour is urging people to act, writing to their MPs and signing petition postcards, precisely because without this kind of pressure on the government, the sanctity and dignity of human life is being allowed to erode away. CAREand Alive and Kickinghave been consistently working on these issues for a long time and offer ways for the individual and Churches to get involved – whether it’s campaigning, writing to your MP, lobbying the government, raising awareness of these issues or even volunteering at a pregnancy crisis centre. Whatever your contribution may be, they urge us not just to be aware and to talk about these issues, but to act upon them and the time to act has not been so pressing for a long time as it is right now.
References
(1) http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/humanfertilisationandembryology.html
(2) http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/
(3) http://www.careconfidential.com/ and http://www.cmf.org.uk/index/euthanasia.htm
(4) http://www.care.org.uk/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=64265
(5) http://www.care.org.uk/Publisher/Article.aspx?id=67195
Susannah Clark, Public Theology Researcher
