JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Irish, British & European politicians defend anti-abortion laws in Ireland

Friday 1 March 2013

Irish, British & European politicians defend anti-abortion laws in Ireland

From left to right: Ian Paisley Jnr MP (DUP)
Dana Rosemary Scallon, former MEP,
Paul Givan MLA (DUP),
chair of the Northern Ireland
Assembly Justice Committee,
and Fianna Fail Senator, Jim Walsh

Today in Northern Ireland's Parliament Buildings, Stormont, a coalition partnership of politicians from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Britain and Europe stressed the vital importance of not decriminalising abortion in the Republic of Ireland and of upholding the 1861 Offences against the Person Act, sections 58 & 59, which prohibit abortion.

The coalition included Jim Wells MLA, Danny Kennedy MLA, Paul Givan MLA, Pat Ramsey MLA, Jim Walsh a member of the Irish Senate, along with Ian Paisley Junior MP, Jeffrey Donaldson MP and former MEPs Dana Rosemary Scallon and Kathy Sinnott, and pro-life leaders Bernie Smyth, of Precious Life, and Liam Gibson of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. There were messages of support from Edwin Vassallo MP of Government Party of Malta, from British Parliamentarians, Lord David Alton, Lord Windsor, and Fiona Bruce MP, and from European parliamentarians Luca Volonté MEP, and Diane Dodds MEP.

The message from the meeting of politicians was:

Under the 1861 Offences against the Person Act, sections 58 & 59 ban abortion in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The role of Government is to uphold the Law.
The weakest and most vulnerable in society must not be systematically dehumanized by catchy slogans, clever marketing, slick advertising and aggressive lobbying.

Senator Jim Walsh stated that abortion is barbaric. Jeffrey Donaldson MP, said the first duty of a politician is to protect the vulnerable and no one is more vulnerable than the unborn. Ian Paisley Jnr. MP, stated murder had been taken from the streets of Northern Ireland and it would be a great shame if it was to give way to the killing of the unborn. He also that Dr Ian Paisley (senior) fully supported this core group initiative.

Pat Ramsey MLA said that the SDLP is a pro-life party and defends the right to life of the unborn. Paul Givan MLA, stated that the pro-life position unites communities and Sinn Fein must reflect on their opposition to legislation designed to protect unborn children. Danny Kennedy MLA, said the pro-life point of view represents the majority. Former MEP Kathy Sinnott said that politicians must move out of their comfort zones to defend the right to life and if a woman’s life is in danger then she should be in a hospital and not an abortion clinic. Dana Rosemary Scallon said that all values are worth defending and at this moment "we must defend the value of life since the fundamental right to life is the basis of all other rights".

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.