United pro-life effort led to British Parliament's rejection of assisted suicide

Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary

Congratulations to SPUC's tens of thousands of supporters, to pro-life leaders and colleagues in other organisations, and to Catholic leaders in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland on the overwhelming defeat of assisted suicide legislative proposals brought forward by Rob Marris MP.

Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, explains:

The Bill was defeated on 11 September by a very substantial margin. The vote was reported as 118 for the bill, 330 against. One MP, Dr Rupa Huq, voted in both lobbies – effectively an abstention. Given that two tellers are appointed on each side for the division, the most precise indication of voting on the bill therefore is 119 for, 331 against, 1 “abstention”.

As there are now 650 seats in the House of Commons, the 331 MPs opposing the bill represents an overall majority (51%) of MPs. The proportion of MPs voting (almost 70%) reflects the depth of interest in the debate, and the strength of the majority is of course very decisive.

Among many outstanding speeches against the bill, Dr Philippa Whitford MP, a breast cancer surgeon, said: "I have never considered as a doctor that death was a good treatment for anything".

Other notable speeches against the bill included those by Jonathan Reynolds (Labour, Stalybridge & Hyde) and Dr Philippa Whitford (SNP, Central Ayrshire). David Cameron's opposition to the bill may have been a significant factor for some conservative MPs who voted against the bill. The front bench speeches, which are made at the conclusion of any debate, were surprisingly partisan. The opposition spokesman (Andy Slaughter) supported the bill and the government minister (Mike Penning, the Justice minister), while saying that the government did not hold a position on the bill, expressed his opposition to it on a personal level. Usually, on a free-vote issue, front-bench spokesmen would not express such explicit personal views.

The effectiveness of the campaign may be attributed to the fact that it was a strongly united effort, in which we all supported each others' endeavours, involving:

• Distant Voices
• ALERT
• Christian Concern
• Christian Institute
• Care Not Killing
• Catholic Medical Association
• Christian Medical Fellowship
• CARE
• Not Dead Yet UK
• Anscombe Bioethics Centre
• and the Catholic bishops conferences of England & Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
• SPUC

SPUC sent a special mailing to our 20,000 most active members, as well as various other mailings to key groups. As a result of our mailings, electronic alerts and website campaigning, approximately 27,500 briefings on the Bill were ordered and hundreds of supporters informed us about the voting intentions of hundreds of MPs. Readers of SPUC's Pro-Life Times, which has a circulation of 110,000, also opposed the Bill. Many supporters will have received similar messages about contacting their MP from a number of groups. MPs were getting the same message from a variety of constituents: vote against the bill. Faith leaders spoke out against the bill (in particular Catholic leaders from both Britain and Northern Ireland) and events such as vigils to encourage prayer for protection against the bill were organised in some places.

On the day of the Bill's defeat SPUC's Paul Tully told the media:

"This was an important victory for true compassion. It is a vote of affirmation for all those healthcare staff looking after terminally ill people. It will be a great relief to those with disabilities, chronic conditions and degenerative illnesses. The threat to them has been averted for now.....

"It is important to recognise that the defeat of the bill does not mean that people in severe pain will suffer more – in fact the bill included no mention of pain. Palliative care specialists can nearly always provide effective pain relief, even for very severe pain, and this is rarely cited as a reason for contemplating suicide."

In other words, we must not rest on our laurels. Contact me to find out how you can help to continue the campaign against assisted suicide. And for SPUC's part, we remain absolutely committed to building a united effort between pro-life groups and church leaders with a view to achieving further victories in the future.

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Christian teachers should be silenced using banning orders, says MP

A Conservative MP has called for Christian teachers to be subject to banning orders. Conservative MP for Sherwood Mark Spencer has called for Extreme Disruption Orders (EDOs) to be used against Christian teachers who teach a traditional view on marriage. Those who say that same-sex marriage is “wrong” will be subject to the tough new restrictions which were drawn up by  Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May in order to curb radicalisation by jihadists. [Telegraph, 3 August]

To see a full news summary for 6 August 2015, click here.

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Please join us in a minute's silence on Monday for unborn children

Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC's youth officer, has initiated a call for people to hold a one minute silence on Monday for unborn children. Here are the details, courtesy of Rhoslyn:

On Monday 27 October, we commemorate the 47th anniversary of Royal Assent given to the Abortion Act by Queen Elizabeth II. Royal Assent is approval of a law passed by a nation’s parliament, given by the constitutional monarch.

We will be holding a minute’s silence on Monday, 27 October 2014 (this Monday) at 11.04am (the time when Royal Assent was given) to remember the (over) 8 million unborn babies (including those aborted in Scotland), who have been killed in the womb since the passing of the Abortion Act.

In 2013, 190,800 unborn babies were aborted in England and Wales under the Abortion Act – at least 550 a day, including non-residents. The highest rate of abortion was among women aged 22 years old. 773 abortions was carried out on mothers under the age of 15 and 81% of abortions were carried out on mothers who described themselves as single. 98% of abortions were funded by the NHS including those in private abortion centres such as the BPAS.

These figures demonstrate why the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children exists and why we need to continue to fight for the unborn and for the family, as a whole. More than ever, we see attacks on all sides to destroy the family as it has always been known: one man and one woman, joined together in matrimony in order to raise the children given to them. Absolute respect for all human life from the moment of conception to the last moment before natural death is the overall objective of SPUC.

Many countries, not least those countries which are part of the Commonwealth, look to Britain for leadership on issues concerning the family. Both David Cameron and Ed Miliband have publicly stated that they intend to export same-sex marriage to other countries and Cameron has even said, “British aid should have more strings attached”. What is passed or rejected in Britain concerning the family has international repercussions.

SPUC invites everyone to hold a minute’s silence in honour of the children who will never be born and who will never know what it is to be loved in this life. We also remember the mothers and fathers who have made this tragic mistake which has also damaged them. We honour as well all those mothers and fathers who have withstood enormous pressures and have given their babies the best chance of life by respecting their right to be born.

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SPUC's national conference 2014 opens with an African flavour

Bob Edwards

SPUC's national conference 2014 kicked off last night in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Follow our Twitter feed @spucprolife for updates throughout this weekend.

The conference was opened by Bob Edwards, SPUC's Honorary Treasurer, who has had a long and distinguished career in finance and in the charity sector. He was sure that many warm friendships would be established among the delegates this weekend.

Rhoslyn Thomas

Next we heard from Rhoslyn Thomas, 25, SPUC's new Youth and Education Officer and the manager of SPUC's internship scheme. She introduced Eyo Esua, one of four of this year's interns. Eyo is a law student at Portsmouth University. He explained the many interesting and varied activities during this internship, such as researching charities, educational leafleting, and a protest outside the Polish embasssy. He discovered that many members of the public are generally against abortion. He charmed the audience by talk: "I'm Eyo, I'm 19, and I'm pro-life."

Eyo Esua

The keynote address of the evening was given by Obianuju "Uju" Ekeocha, who runs Culture of Life Africa (COLA), an internet-based resource which monitors and publicises the attacks on the culture of life in her home continent of Africa. Uju organised the first ever pro-life conference in her native Nigeria in June 2013. She is outspoken against first world countries deluging the world’s poorest countries, most of them in Africa, with contraception and abortion. Here are the key points from her address:

Uju and SPUC:

Obianuju "Uju" Ekeocha

Uju, who is a biomedical scientist, said that she grew up in Nigeria and has lived in the UK for 9 years. She thanked SPUC, saying she was impressed by the depth of SPUC's dedication. Not many pro-life organisations take a great interest in Africa. Uju has developed a very special pro-life friendship with Antonia Tully of SPUC.

Uju, Melinda Gates, Culture of Life Africa (COLA):
There is a clash of culture between the West and Africa
Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft billionnaire Bill Gates, organised the London Summit on Family Planning, London. David Cameron spoke at the summit.
Melinda Gates' campaign may have to some good intentions but is going to:

• start a contraceptive culture in Africa, when the current rate of contraceptive usage is simply not on a par with the Western world
• distort the understanding of human sexuality
• depreciate the value of motherhood, when in fact motherhood is celebrated in African culture
• de-emphasise marriage, when in fact Africans aspire to marriage
• spread ideology of radical feminism and culture of abortion - claimed not supporting abortion but contraceptive campaign will involve abortion as 'safety net'

On 5 August 2012, Uju wrote an open letter online to Melinda Gates. The open letter went viral, and sparked argument. Uju had to defend her position online and therefore had to do lots of research. She decided to launch Culture of Life Africa in February 2013, starting with a blog.

Current situation in Africa:

• Abortion on demand is legal in only four African countries. 80% of African countries protect unborn children
• Pro-abortion advocates hard at work - pro-abortion advocates don't sleep! In some countries (e.g. Kenya, Ghana) they're playing word games

Plot to pass pro-abortion law foiled in Nigeria!:
Recently a short, sweeping pro-abortion bill was inserted into the law in one Nigeria state. The bill looked like something from a Planned Parenthood guidebook. Uju said: "This has nothing to do with my country!" The bill was signed into law by the state's Governor but kept secret, with the text of the law locked away in a state government office. The tribal prince of Uju's town sent someone to sneak into the office and photocopy the bill - something he could have been killed for doing. The prince made the text public, which led to widespread outrage. The local Catholic archbishop organised opposition to the bill. In response, the governor not only repealed the law but publicly apologised for what had happened. So Africa can be kept pro-life!

Reality of abortion in Africa:
Where abortion is legal in Africa, there is coercion, post-abortion trauma (PAS), sexual violence, medical malpractice, marriage and family weakened, and suppression of conscientious objectors.

Where there is suppression by pro-abortion authorities in Africa, there is a lot of suppression - in South Africa, even religious sisters are not exempt from having to do abortion training and must therefore withdraw from health care! The rape culture in South Africa has actually worsened since legal abortion was liberalised in 1994. One million unborn babies have died through abortion in South Africa since then.

Man will decide if woman has abortion. Abortion clinic workers are poorly paid. There is inadequate crisis pregnancy care. Legal restrictions are not enforced because of corruption. Doctors are performing illegal abortions - though this is exaggerated by pro-abortion advocates in order to paint a false picture. Doctors, OB/GYNs: these people, the ones who are doing abortions, are in fact the ones who should be protecting life.

African medical systems are heavily influenced by the West huge pressure from West:

• the UK's DFID (Department for International Development) - used to promote general education, now all they care about is sex education
• IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation) - funded by the US et al.
• MSI (Marie Stopes International) - has produced a video made to spread the pro-abortion message to young people
• Amnesty International
• Ipas - from North Carolina, trains lobbyists

A Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF) has been established. It exists only to lobby. It's a terrible thing and the UK is paying for it. This is cultural imperialism by Western politicians, and against African values, which includes valuing life.

The pro-abortion strategies in Africa include:

• reframe the issue by calls to 'public health'
• lobbying African leaders
• campaigns at UN, EU, etc
• media campaign
• sex education - funded by United States et al.
• questionable statistics

The anti-life lobby claim that there are large numbers of  'unplanned' pregnacies; yet the concept of 'unplanned' doesn't exist as an expression in African dialects! Where are they getting figures from? They have launched a project to condomise Africa, flooding the continent with condoms. For example, 118,800 condoms were shared at one event.

What Africa really needs is H.E.L.P.:

• Health
• Education
• Life
• Peace

The pro-life response:
There has been a powerful witness by SPUC in Nigeria. John Smeaton's talk to the Nigerian bishops has had huge fruits: the Bishops' Conference is inspired and ready to champion the pro-life cause; more pro-life outreach; and more international recognition of African pro-life spirit. So there is a way forward for a pro-life Africa:

• frame the issue
• lobby African leaders
• humanise the subject
• campaign at UN, EU, etc., especially get more Africans lobbying for life at UN
• conduct media campaigns
• educate the African public on life issues.

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Report of my address to Nigeria's Catholic bishops

Below is SPUC's press release about my address last night to Nigeria's Catholic bishops:

Nigerian bishops give standing ovation for UK pro-life leader's tough words

Abuja, Nigeria, 6 June 2014: Nigeria's Catholic bishops have given a standing ovation for tough words in a speech last night given by a veteran UK pro-life leader.

John Smeaton, chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) www.spuc.org.uk last night addressed (full text) the bishops at a dinner in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, following a pro-life march and conference organised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (photographs below).

Mr Smeaton started by praising Nigeria's pro-family culture:

"Compared with Nigeria, Britain is a poor nation. I am not measuring wealth by the criteria of the International Monetary Fund ... Nigeria’s true wealth, compared with Britain’s, can be found in its fertility rate, which is more than five children per woman of child-bearing age, in contrast to the UK's rate of less than two. That’s why many politicians and institutions in powerful Western nations are afraid of Nigeria and want to interfere with laws and policies in [Nigeria] which affect women and children in particular."

Mr Smeaton also praised Nigeria's Catholic bishops:

"Nigeria's wealth is also reflected in the moral leadership given by Catholic Church leaders in Nigeria. Your opposition in 2010 to the African Union’s pro-abortion Maputo Protocol, led by His Eminence John Onaiyekan, the cardinal archbishop of Abuja, reverberated around the world ... Earlier this year, you, the Catholic bishops of Nigeria publicly thanked Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president, for signing into law the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2011".

Mr Smeaton continued:

"As a pro-life leader, as a Catholic parent, I am very grateful to the Nigerian Catholic Bishops for your defence of our families. You are following the example of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions. Standing up against the worldwide homosexual agenda is crucial for the protection of children and it is a fundamental pro-life issue. Bishops around the world should follow the Nigerian bishops' lead and speak out for strong policies against the subversion of the truth and meaning of human sexuality."

Warning again about Western interference in Africa, Mr Smeaton said:

"British Prime Minister, David Cameron has threatened to withhold UK aid from poor countries that do not conform saying in connection with the homosexual rights agenda, and I quote: 'British aid should have more strings attached'." Just a few weeks ago, last April, Nigeria’s permanent representative at the UN, Ambassador Joy Ogwu, came under attack from International Planned Federation for opposing abortion on behalf of the Nigerian delegation at the UN."

Pointing out that "the pro-life movement cannot defeat the culture of death on our own", Mr Smeaton called for:

"pro-life organizations and the wider community [to] be fortified by unequivocal, unyielding voices of Catholic Church officials and bishops throughout the world. I implore all Catholic bishops throughout the world to speak out clearly and categorically that politicians who vote for and publicly support abortion legislation must publicly retract and refute the position they have adopted before receiving Jesus Christ in Holy Communion".

Mr Smeaton observed that:

"many leaders of faithful Christian and pro-life, pro-family organizations have found" absoluteness "severely lacking in Catholic leadership today ... In its place we have weakness and compromise."

This lack of absoluteness on the teaching of Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI's encyclical against contraception) has had a negative impact on the pro-life fight, because "the use of contraception undermines respect for the sanctity of human life from conception and makes abortion an option", said Mr Smeaton.

John Smeaton (centre, in white shirt) with student-delegates from Benin University:

Nigeria's Catholic bishops marching for life and family:

SPUC's communications department can be contacted on:

• email news@spuc.org.uk
• mobile 07939 177683
• direct dial landline 020 7820 3129
• Twitter @spucprolife

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Daily Telegraph sex ed campaign is misleading parents

The Daily Telegraph's campaign calling for school lessons about the dangers of pornography is misleading, according to SPUC's Safe at School campaign, which supports and advises parents whose children are subjected to unacceptable sex education in school.

Antonia Tully, national co-ordinator of Safe at School, told the media earlier today:

“What the Daily Telegraph campaign doesn't say is what will actually be taught in schools. My fear is that parents, and many people who have signed their petition, don't realise that current proposals for teaching children and teenagers about pornography are not about warning them of the dangers.

The influential Sex Education Forum has published an online magazine showing teachers how to introduce children and teenagers to pornography. These lesson ideas are not about teaching children and teenagers about how to avoid pornography, but normalising it.

The prime minister has pointed to the fact that most internet access among children takes place at home. This means that parents are literally best placed to protect their children from pornography. The Daily Telegraph campaign is calling for so-called sex education 'experts' to teach children. It's time to recognise that parents are the experts when it comes to their own children.”

David Cameron has rejected The Telegraph's call for sex education guidelines to be withdrawn, saying that “teachers can talk about porn within the existing guidelines”.

Safe at School has said that any change to the sex education guidelines could be extremely dangerous in the light of the Sex Education Forum's proposals for the inclusion of pornography in sex education.

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Telegraph campaign for better sex ed “a slap in the face for parents” says leading parent advocacy group

The “Telegraph Wonder Women” campaign for better sex education is a slap in the face for every parent in

this country, said Antonia Tully of Safe at School, a campaign of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children which supports and advises parents facing unacceptable sex education in their children's schools. Antonia told the press today that:

“Children and teenagers accessing online pornography is a growing problem which urgently needs to be addressed, but I have no confidence that including pornography in updated sex education, as the NSPCC recommends, will make young people safer” .

Antonia continued:

“The NSPCC is a member of the Sex Education Forum (SEF) which has published an online magazine about how to teach school pupils about pornography. The content of the SEF magazine makes it abundantly clear that pornography lessons will not be about how to avoid pornography. These lessons are all about dangling pornography in front of teenagers with the absurd expectation that aroused adolescents will calmly analyse whether the images they are looking are “real” or photo-shopped. This madness will drive teenagers further into pornography.”

Claire Perry MP, an adviser to David Cameron on “preventing commercialisation and sexualisation” of children, is calling for government guidelines on teaching sex education to be redrawn. The current guidelines on sex and relationships education include numerous references to the importance of involving parents in teaching children about sexual issues. Safe at School believes that the government should be emphasising these guidelines and supporting parents, particularly in teaching their children about how to avoid pornography.

Mrs Tully said:

“Parents have been systematically side-lined on sex education and have been made to feel that they are too stupid and inadequate to talk to their own children about sexual issues. No wonder, according to The Daily Telegraph, school children are three times more likely to go online for advice on sex and relationships rather than their parents.”

SPUC Safe at School launched a nationwide petition in July calling on the Secretary of State for Education to prohibit the promotion of pornography in schools.


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SPUC comments on British PM's pub meeting with gay activist comedian

location of Cameron & Fry meeting

Top story:

SPUC comments on British PM's pub meeting with gay activist comedian
SPUC has commented on the meeting between David Cameron, the British prime minister, and Stephen Fry, the homosexual activist and comedian. The two were invited to meet by Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the pro-homosexual London Evening Standard newspaper, at a London pub owned jointly by Lebedev and Sir Ian McKellen, the homosexual activist and actor. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the UK's response to Russia's laws on homosexuality. Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, told LifeSiteNews.com: "David Cameron's pub meeting suggests that he is now an actual leader of the homosexualist lobby, and that he prefers the company of his party's left-wing opponents to its own traditional supporters. One suspects that Mr Cameron is privately pleased that huge numbers of pro-family Tories are fleeing from the Conservative party. All prime ministers are desperate to leave their mark on history, and Mr Cameron is delighted to leave the destruction of true marriage as his legacy. The cost, of course, will be be paid by future generations, especially children both born and unborn." [LifeSiteNews.com, 19 August]

Other stories:

Abortion

• Abortion doesn’t kill babies, abortionists do [SPUC youth blog, 20 August]
• Abortion rates rising in Wigan, north-west England [Wigan Today, 19 August]
• Hard working abortionists should motivate us [SPUC youth blog, 13 August]

Embryology

• 3.8 million human embryos created to produce 122,000 live births – success rate of 3.2%  [Peter Saunders, 18 August]
• At 60, Britain's oldest mum of IVF twins finally admits: I wish I had a man to help me [Mail, 15 August]

Euthanasia

• Rugby star with motor neurone disease says he's "very positive, very happy" [BBC, 20 August]
• Shape up or close down, 800 care homes are told [Times, 20 August]
• Euthanasia fears as Irish government introduces mental incapacity bill [Pat Buckley, 19 August]
• Neighbour tells mother to "Do the right thing and…euthanize" autistic 13-year-old son [LifeSiteNews.com, 19 August]
• English pair arrested over assisted death claim [BBC, 18 August]
• Eleven arrests over care home death [Telegraph, 13 August]

Sexual ethics

• Outgoing Chief Rabbi accused British PM of failing stay-at-home mothers [Telegraph, 19 August]
• Leading Catholic academic shows why Catholics may not support civil partnerships [John Smeaton, 13 August]

General

• Hard working pro-life volunteers should motivate us too! [SPUC youth blog, 19 August]
• Alfred Rosenberg and Nazi racial theory [SPUC youth blog, 14 August]

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Irish Catholic hospital not allowed to opt out of abortion

Irish Catholic hospital not allowed to opt out of abortion requirement: government [LifeSiteNews.com, 12 August]

Pope Francis issues pro-life/pro-family mission statements for all Catholics
Pope Francis issued two strong pro-life/pro-family messages last week. In a message to Brazilian families, he said: "In a particular way, faced with the culture of waste, that relativizes the value of human life, parents are called to pass on to their children the understanding that this must always be defended, already in the mother's womb". And in a message to a Catholic men's fraternity, he called upon them to "bear witness to the authentic nature of marriage and the family, the sanctity and inviolable dignity of human life, and the beauty and truth of human sexuality." John Smeaton, SPUC director, commented: "It is clear, from both the details and the contexts, that these are mission statements, not just for parents or for the Knights of Columbus, but for all the faithful." [John Smeaton, 12 August]

Concern about maternity unit closures and midwives shortages
The group "Save St Helier" is concerned that the proposed closure of the maternity unit at St Helier hospital, Sutton, will jeopardise the safety of expectant mothers and their unborn children, by forcing them to travel all the way to the maternity unit at St George's hospital, Tooting. They argue that St George's is already under increasing strain, and that many such journeys would have to be undertaken during rush-hours on already traffic-jammed roads. SPUC is encouraging its members to read more about these issues and make their concerns known to their local MP and GPs. [John Smeaton, 9 August]

Other stories:

Embryology

• Stem cells: what happened to the radical breakthroughs? [Observer, 11 August]

Sexual ethics

• "Threats to marriage and family", warn the Bishops of the Province of Ibadan [News.va, 12 August]
• Brazen David Cameron claims after legalising gay mariage that he’s an active Christian who avoids ‘pick and mix’ discipleship [Protect the Pope, 10 August]
• Scottish man fined £40,000 for ‘homophobic’ Twitter message [LifeSiteNews.com, 9 August]

General

• Madrid Declaration on Science and Life [FIAMC, 13 August]
• Dr John Kelly, veteran English OB/GYN, dies [MaterCare International, 9 August]

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Must-read pro-life news-stories, Mon 1 Aug

Top stories:

Nicklinson-Lamb euthanasia ruling welcomed but 'Martin' assisted suicide ruling carries danger for disabled people
SPUC Pro-Life has welcomed the fact that the murder law has been upheld in today’s judgment in the Nicklinson and Lamb euthanasia cases. However, the majority judgment in the case of the anonymous third man, 'Martin', is deeply disturbing. Paul Tully, SPUC Pro-Life's general secretary, said: "If implemented it could encourage the pro-euthanasia lobby to recruit paid medical and legal professionals to organise the suicides of suffering and disabled people. [SPUC, 31 July]

Ethical campaigners saddened by final approval of Wales opt-out organ bill
Ethical campaigners have expressed their sadness following final approval of a bill in Wales to create an opt-out system for organ transplantation. Members of the Wales region of SPUC are saddened that the Secretary of State for Wales has decided not to use his powers to block the Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill from being sent to Her Majesty the Queen for Royal Assent. Michael Wendell Thomas, vice-chairman of SPUC's Wales region, said: "A collective weight of opinion has demonstrated that implementation of the Bill will be fraught with risk. "Members of SPUC's Wales region will remain vigilant regarding this ill-considered piece of legislation. We will campaign wherever possible to mitigate the effects that it may have on the weak and vulnerable in our midst. [SPUC, 31 July]

Family campaigners worldwide must protest against Cameron’s plan to export same-sex marriage
SPUC is calling upon family campaigners worldwide to protest against the British prime minister’s plan to export same-sex marriage, following David Cameron’s speech last night at a reception at No. 10 Downing Street, the prime ministerial residence, to thank those who had engineered the rail-roading of Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act through Parliament. John Smeaton, SPUC’s chief executive, called for international resistance to the British prime minister’s global plans to impose sexual licence on children and poor families. He said: “SPUC will be contacting church leaders, politicians and family campaigners worldwide to alert them to this threat by the British government, asking them to protest to the British embassies in their countries. Same-sex marriage is a counterfeit version of marriage and thus undermines real marriage, which is the best protector of children, both born and unborn. [SPUC, 25 July]

Other stories:

Abortion

• Ireland’s pregnancy law open to challenge [Pat Buckley, 30 July]
• Congresswoman rejects abortion, baby becomes first ever to survive Potter’s syndrome [LifeSiteNews.com, 30 July]
• Mother, 20, who was repeatedly told to abort baby lost him 19 minutes after birth [Mail, 29 July]
• Realistic description of abortion necessary in sanitised debate of half-truths [Pat Buckley, 26 July]
• I faked a student pregnancy, and I was horrified by the reaction [Independent, 23 July]

Embryology and stem cells

• Scientists grow human tooth using stem cells taken from urine [Independent, 30 July]

Population

• Madagascar bishops and clergy complain about Catholic Relief Services' activities [Population Research Institute, 1 August]
• China slammed by US State Department for policies that encourage trafficking in persons [Pat Buckley, 31 July]

Sexual ethics

• UK: Gay couple to sue church over gay marriage opt-out [Christian Institute, 1 August]
• Court asked to sterilise man with learning difficulties [Telegraph, 1 August]
• School bins sex education DVD for being too graphic [This is Sussex, 1 August]
• France: Sperm donor granted visiting rights to the child of a same-sex couple [Pink News, 1 August]
• Local Tories ‘still very unhappy’ over gay marriage [Christian Institute, 31 July]
• Stay-at-home mothers are the happiest [Mail, 31 July]
• Some Minnesotans are more sad than bitter over gay marriage [StarTribune, 31 July]

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Fantastic pro-life/pro-family conference and march in Nigeria

Last month Archbishop Obinna, the Catholic archbishop of Owerri in Nigeria, initiated a pro-life/pro-family conference and a march in his archdiocese. See below some photos from the events, and following the photos the full text of a very strong statement issued after the conference.

SPUC supported these events, by donating foetal models and literature, and a letter from me appeared on the second page of the conference programme. In particular, SPUC is supporting the work of Obianuju ("Uju") Ekeocha of Culture of Life Africa, who helped organise the events. Do visit Culture of Life Africa's:

• website http://www.cultureoflifeafrica.org/
• blog http://www.cultureoflifeafrica.com/
• Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Culture-of-Life-Africa/317637168337155

Uju has written recently a very important article about the promotion of the homosexual agenda in Africa by Barack Obama, the US president. This article is very timely, considering that David Cameron, the British prime minister, has announced his intention to export same-sex marriage around the world.

 

  

UNITED IN GOD FOR LIFE

A Declaration issued at the end of the Pro-life Conference/ Rally at the Obiri Odenigbo, Villa Assumpta, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, June 3rd – 4th, 2013.

As our society is experiencing the dangerous encroachment of the culture of death from without and within, the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri continues its Pro-life Mission by organizing a two-day Pro-life Conference with the theme: “Protecting Human Life from Conception to Natural Death.” Pro-lifers from Nigeria, Europe and America participated in the Conference and Rally. The predominant evils of same-sex union, pornography, abortion, contraception, euthanasia, baby factory, anti-life bills and laws and the negative influence of social networks were the major concerns of this conference. The destructive effects of these moral ills are quite obvious in the structural decay of families in Europe and America which have led to the systematic decline of their economy and social order. These notorious international organizations – International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Marie Stops International (MSI), Gates Foundation, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and many more, are serving as platforms for the spread of these anti-life practices.

From insights generated from the conference we declare as follows:

1. Human Life begins at conception and as such must be protected till natural death. Every conceived child is formed and perfected in the image and likeness of God.

2. All legislations for abortion, which is the intentional killing of innocent babies in the womb, should be denounced as evil and abrogated. We must remain resolved in our efforts to ensure that abortion is never legalized in our society.

3. Artificial contraception is morally unacceptable and harmful to the health of women and marriage stability. Hence, the Natural Family Planning is the ideal method of spacing of children and delay of pregnancy. It has proven to be very effective and has no side effects. The key to success is co-operation, commitment, communication and prayer.

4. Human Life is sacred and of inestimable value. The entire human person belongs to God. This means that neither the human person nor his body can be commodities for commercial purposes. We must therefore fight against these heinous crimes against humanity.

5. Same-sex union is abominable and should never be given legal status in our nation. The tolerance and promotion of same-sex union leads to the corrosion of more basic rights (conscience right, religious right), injury to children, further degradation of the family and decrease in life expectancy. It is for this reason that it should never be an integral part of our social, cultural or legal landscape. True marriage is a one-man and one-woman covenant established by God.

6. Having sex is a special preserve for the married. It is a sacred act ordained by God to be exercised only in marriage for its unitive and procreative purposes. Pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex is a deviation of this divine plan of intimate love which is rooted in chastity. Homosexuality and lesbianism are abnormal and sinful acts.

7. We should remain with God for life. If we remain with God, we will not only cherish the life of God in us, we will defend the life of everyone everywhere.

Signed By:

Most Rev. Anthony J. V. Obinna
Archbishop of Owerri

Rev. Fr. Justin Okoro
Chaplain Pro-life Owerri

Mrs. Obianuju Ekeocha
Culture of Life Africa

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Family campaigners worldwide must protest against Cameron’s plan to export same-sex marriage

SPUC is calling upon family campaigners worldwide to protest against the British prime minister’s plan to export same-sex marriage, following David Cameron’s speech (see notes 1 & 2 below for extracts) last night at a reception at No. 10 Downing Street, the prime ministerial residence, to thank those who had engineered the rail-roading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act through Parliament.

We are calling for international resistance to the British prime minister’s global plans to impose sexual licence on children and poor families. SPUC will be contacting church leaders, politicians and family campaigners worldwide to alert them to this threat by the British government, asking them to protest to the British embassies in their countries. Same-sex marriage is a counterfeit version of marriage and thus undermines real marriage, which is the best protector of children, both born and unborn.

From the very start of his prime ministership, Mr Cameron and his government have been obsessed with promoting the culture of death around the world. This includes spending hundreds of millions of pounds on the promotion of abortion and contraception. People anxious to defend life and family in their countries must warn their fellow citizens about these insidious activities of British government officials.

Antonia Tully, national coordinator of SPUC’s Safe at School campaign, commented:

"Mr Cameron’s comments about children (see note 2 below) is yet more evidence that legalising same-sex marriage will lead to the promotion of homosexuality in schools. The real scourge in schools is the sexualisation of children, not least through the material which homosexual groups use to target children.”

SPUC has published a position paper on same-sex marriage explaining why SPUC campaigns for real marriage, and a background paper to be read in conjunction with the position paper and which provides some additional references and reflections.

Notes:

1) Mr Cameron thanked ministers and officials (known as the ‘bill team’), saying:

"I’ve told the bill team I’m now going to reassign them because, of course, all over the world people would have been watching this piece of legislation and we’ve set something, I think, of an example of how to pass good legislation in good time. Many other countries are going to want to copy this. And, as you know, I talk about the global race, about how we’ve got to export more and sell more so I’m going to export the bill team. I think they can be part of this global race and take it around the world."

Mr Cameron also said:

“There’s a lot more work to be done as Britain in the Commonwealth, talking to our Commonwealth partners about decriminalising homosexuality in various countries.”

2) In clear references to how the same-sex marriage law will provide momentum to promoting homosexuality in schools, Mr Cameron said:

"I think of young children growing up at school, who might be uncertain about their sexuality, knowing that now, in the highest place in the land – in Parliament – we’ve passed this law that says that marriage is for you, whether you’re gay or whether you’re straight. And I think that is so important to young people growing up."

and

"There’s a lot of work to be done on homophobic bullying in schools, which is still a scourge in our country. There’s a lot of work to be done in terms of hate crimes and how we stop and stamp that out in our society."

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Why the government's plans to redefine marriage must be opposed

On Saturday I spoke to the Union of Catholic Mothers of the Archdiocese of Southwark, at Amigo Hall next to St George's cathedral. You can read a report of my address on the SPUC website. In summary, I said:

• David Cameron and his government were seeking to deny children’s birthright, to be brought up by both a mother and a father, by institutionalising fatherless and motherless families.
• Legalising same sex marriage is not about being nice to people with same-sex attraction and letting them get married if they want to. It is about the destruction of the oldest human institution in the world which protects the mental and physical wellbeing of men, women and children
• Research by Dr Patricia Morgan, commissioned by SPUC and presented to Parliament, shows that in countries in which same-sex marriage has been legalized, real marriage is undermined.
• Government statistics on abortion clearly show that unborn children are four to five times less likely to be aborted if they are conceived within marriage. Undermining marriage will result in more unborn children being killed.
• Same-sex couples will demand the right to have children – making it even more difficult for pro-life groups effectively to oppose in vitro fertilisation. Defending the right to life of unborn children will be increasingly viewed as an attack on the rights of homosexual couples.
• Same-sex marriage is about the sexual rights of adults. Real marriage is about best interests of children.
• Claims by government ministers that a teachers will continue to have the right to teach children that marriage is between a man and a woman do not stand up to legal scrutiny nor to statements made by political leaders such as David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and Ed Balls.
• Schools will come under further pressure to teach pupils about homosexual sex.
• Whether the battle is won or lost on the government’s same-sex marriage bill, those in society, including the UCM, who have a clear understanding of what’s at stake must maintain an unceasing educational campaign to warn parents and the general public about the impact of same-sex marriage legislation.
• Unless we continue to insist, through taking our information door-to-door throughout the country, future generations of children will simply never know, still less experience for themselves, that the natural habitat for children is the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman as a permanent exclusive union, as upheld in international human rights instruments.
• We must act now to prevent our country descending into centuries of barbarism.
• I urge members of the UCM to write to their Members of Parliament calling on them to vote against the third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Bill. Briefings can be found at www.spuc.org.uk
• I urge UCM foundations to leaflet their parish churches on the weekends of 5th May and 12th May – since the third reading of the Bill could be as early as the week beginning 20th May. Leaflets are available from SPUC. Telephone me at 020 7820 3128 or email me at johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk
• I appeal to leaders to come forward who would be willing to organize a team of people locally to provide a permanent outreach to the local community. We need 900 groups who are each capable of leafleting 10,000 local homes.
• I greet the West Norwood UCM foundation at whose meeting on 21st February 1951 my birth of the day before had been announced!

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Lord Carey's trumpet call to Britons

Lord Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, sounded a trumpet call yesterday which must resound in all sections of society, throughout Britain. He wrote in the Daily Mail:

"As David Cameron knows, I am very suspicious that behind the [legislative] plans to change the nature of marriage, which come before the House of Lords soon, there lurks an aggressive secularist and relativist approach towards an institution that has glued society together for time immemorial."

Lord Carey went on to say that the Government threatens:

" ... to empty marriage of its fundamental religious and civic meaning as an institution orientated towards the upbringing of children.

"If this is not enough, the legislation fails to provide any protection for religious believers in employment who cannot subscribe to the new meaning of marriage. There will be no exemptions for believers who are registrars. They can expect to be sacked if they cannot, in all conscience, support same-sex marriage.

"Strong legal opinion also suggests that Christian teachers, who are required to teach about marriage, may face disciplinary action if they cannot express agreement with the new politically-correct orthodoxy ... "

May Lord Carey's trumpet sound in the hearts of fellow bishops, Anglican and Catholic, to whom we look to lead Christians and the people of Britain against same-sex legislation which discriminates against children by institutionalising motherless and fatherless families.

May Lord Carey's trumpet sound in the hearts of teachers, headteachers, school governors, and parents who must fight for their fundamental right to teach children about the unchanging nature of marriage as the permanent exclusive union of one man and one woman, a right that threatens to be destroyed by Cameron's legislation.

May Lord Carey's trumpet sound in the hearts of time-serving "Catholic" politicians who are prepared to betray families and children for generations to come for their short-term political advantage - and to betray the founder of their faith, Jesus Christ, who said: ""Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall become one ... "

May Lord Carey's trumpet sound, above all, in the hearts of the ordinary citizens of this country. There is one thing which can beat Cameron and his plan to destroy the family: and that's local leadership. The fundamental group unit of society is not the State; it's not Her Majesty's Government - which has no right to redefine marriage. . The fundamental group unit is the family based upon the marriage of a man and a woman. The State has a duty to serve and protect natural marriage and recognise its primacy, not redefine it.

SPUC and the Coalition for Marriage can beat their drums; we can win the arguments in our briefings, in our public meetings, and in the growing scholarly evidence that same-sex marriage destabilises marriage and family life. But what we need now is local leadership in the towns and villages and cities of Britain, local leaders who will take the message about the terrible threat to marriage and the family to their fellow citizens. Without such local leadership we are wasting our sweetness on the desert air.

SPUC needs leaders to organize leafleting in 120 targeted constituencies. Please pass this message on, sound Lord Carey's trumpet, and let us know if you will help - by leafleting homes, door-to-door, in targeted areas close to you.

For some reason, this Easter weekend, my SPUC email isn't working - so please write to me at johnjsmeaton@gmail.com

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Pray for life in Walsingham on Monday, 8th April

Leeds People For Life are organizing their 10th annual pilgrimage in thanksgiving for the gift of life on Monday, 8th April, next Monday week - and for the intentions of the Pope.

For Catholics in Britain, there can be no more important place to pray for life and for the family than at a shrine of which the history began nearly1000 years ago in 1061.

In the Middle Ages Walsingham was known throughout Europe as Little Nazareth - the home of the Holy Family. During that thousand years, there can never have been a greater peril to the sanctity of life, to marriage and to the family than there is today - threatened as they are are by the policies of David Cameron, Britain's prime minister, and all the leaders of the major parties in Parliament.

As Pope John Paul II said: “ ... a great prayer for life is urgently needed ... ”, Evangelium Vitae 100.

For those making the trip from Yorkshire a coach picks up in a coach picks up: Bradford, Foster Sq. Railway Station at 6-30; at Leeds.Playhouse 6.45; at St Theresa’s Crossgates at 7.00; at Wakefield, Kirkgate at 7.30. The local contact is Annemarie tel 019246948661.  The price for the trip is £16. For further information telephone:  01132582745 or 07747698553.

At the Walsingham shrine, there will be Mass at 12 midday, the feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham - with an afternoon programme including a Holy Hour, Divine Mercy prayers, the Holy mile walk, and Stations of the Cross, plus a visit to the priory grounds or to the Anglican shrine.

I'm sure that travellers from Yorkshire will be delighted to meet with pilgrims from elsewhere on Monday week.  (I shall be in Fatima on that day for the final event in the pilgrimage of the Icon of Our Lady of Czestechowa - when the Icon will reach the Atlantic Ocean after a 65,000 kilometre journey from the coast of the Pacific Ocean at Vladivostok.  During the pilgrimage around 250 thousand leaflets in 15 languages have been distributed and at every destination there has been an act of entrusting the protection of the civilisation of life and love into the hands of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.)

Given the apparently overwhelming threats facing life, marriage, parents and the family, as a Catholic I believe there's nothing happening in the world on Monday, 8th April, which is more important that the Leeds People for Life pilgrimage to Walsingham.

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Must-read pro-life news-stories, Mon 25 Feb

Top story:

SPUC thanks Cardinal O'Brien for his record of speaking out for life and family
SPUC has thanked His Eminence Cardinal Keith O'Brien, archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, on the occasion of his retirement, for the many times in which he spoke out forcefully in defence of unborn children and of the family founded on marriage between one man and one woman. John Smeaton, SPUC director, commented: "I am particularly grateful for the personal support which he gave to SPUC and to me in my role as SPUC director. He can be assured of my prayers and those of SPUC supporters for him and for his successor." [John Smeaton, 25 February]

Other stories:

Abortion

• Another unworkable proposal from NHS ‘experts’ on morning-after pill [Peter Saunders, 23 February]
• Cardinal Arinze: Being ‘personally’ against abortion is like saying ‘personally’ against shooting members of Congress [Pat Buckley, 22 February]
  

Embryology

• IVF clinics reject donor eggs from bipolar women [Express, 24 February]

Sexual ethics

• Top donor Lord Ashcroft drops support for Tory party over gay marriage, claim reports [Mail, 24 February]
• Local chairman in David Cameron's constituency resigns over gay marriage plans [Telegraph, 24 February]
• SNP 'could lose votes from Catholics and Muslims' over gay marriage [STV, 24 February]
• Congratulations to World Congress of Families for withdrawing invitation to Iain Duncan Smith [John Smeaton, 23 February]

General

• UK Border Agency endangering pregnant women's health, claims report [BBC, 25 February]

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Read SPUC's tweets from yesterday's same-sex marriage debate

Below I reproduce the tweets @spucprolife by Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, during yesterday's Second Reading debate on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill:

• Miller doesn't understand that secondary/incidental changes to marriage law doesn't change timeless core of marriage = heterosexual
• Miller quotes opinion of QCs Kennedy, Lester and Pannick. Unconvincing: they're the usual suspects from the pro-gay/anti-family lobby.
• No mention in Miller's introductory speech of the unique reason why society privileges marriage: protection of children, born & unborn
• Lot of fluffiness from rad fem Yvette Cooper re confetti, biscuits, parties, rubber chickens etc. Just killed her PM ambitions, one hopes.
• Repeated confusion btwn benefits of marriage (commitment, stability) and nature of marriage (complementary union ordered towards children)
• Mention of books written for children promoting gay relationships. Coming to a school near you if marriage (& thus family) redefined.
• Yvette Cooper warns anti-SSM churches that "religious freedom goes both ways". Must not prevent state from redefining marriage.
• Yvette Cooper confuses legal reforms of practice of marriage with false idea that core of marriage (i.e. heterosexual) can change.
• Discredited Marxist theory of social change being used to justify what even the original Marxists didn't dream of (gay marriage).
• Robert Flello MP: Marriage more than just love & commitment. Gay marriage redefines everyone's marriage by reducing it to a relationship.
• Steve Gilbert MP defames upholders of marriage status quo as "those who would hoard privilege". More souped-up Marxist ramblings.
• Sir Roger Gale MP: assurances that civil partnerships would not lead to same-sex marriage have been broken.
• Natascha Engel MP: gay couples can raise children just as well as straight couples. Thus fathers and mothers are just interchangeable carers
• Nick Herbert MP also confuses reforms of secondary aspects of marriage law with abolishing fundamental nature & purpose of marriage
• Stephen Doughty MP implied that it was the state's prerogative to extend marriage. But marriage doesn't belong to the state.
• Edward Leigh MP: we must be careful to ensure that law and reality do not conflict. Gay marriage bill tries to change essence of marriage.
• Gay marriage bill is not evolution but revolution, says Edward Leigh MP. Marriage exists for sake of children. Not just for love or sex.
• Pro-SSM MPs rattled that their seats now in danger at the next election. We like rattling.
• Jim Shannon MP: letters against gay marriage = largest mail-bag I've received in all my years as MP and MLA.
• Simon Hughes MP used Lincoln film to draw historical lesson re gay marriage. He needs to read real history not the Hollywood spin.
• Craig Whittaker MP: marriage already being eroded so state shouldn't be making situation worse by changing nature of marriage
• Stephen Timms: marriage exists for children but SSM bill barely mentions children.
• Gay relationships are not the same as marriage, they are different, says Stephen Timms MP.
• Clear implication of Fiona Mactaggart MP interjection is that gay marriage will redefine the family by redefining marriage
• Not exactly the most intelligent or original speech being given by Emma Reynolds MP re gay marriage
• John Glen MP: received incredible vitriol simply for upholding marriage as it is.
• David Lammy MP repeating his low-quality performance back during the Mental Capacity Bill. Comparing anti-SSM to racism. What a bore.
• Chris Bryant MP conspicuously omits Book of Common Prayer text: "First, [marriage] was ordained for the procreation of children" @His_Grace
• William McCrea MP: quoting Bible in Parliament often met with laughter, scorn, intolerance by MPs. Biblical marriage has served UK well.
• MT @RhoslynThomas: BBC radio 4 playing the wedding march as they announce the SSM bill.
• Stewart Jackson MP: comparing opposition to gay marriage to racism is complete nonsense.
• Catholic adoption agencies "smashed on the altar of political correctness", says Stewart Jackson MP
• David Simpson MP: neither Parliament nor Government has the (moral) jurisdiction to redefine marriage
• Sarah Wollaston MP lowers debate by wheeling out old case of Alan Turing's chemical castration and suicide. Emotional blackmail.
• Ian Paisley Jnr MP: Government cannot change nature. Refining marriage is a nonsense which will damage marriage.
• Willie Bain MP claiming maj. support for SSM among Catholics. But such surveys usually don't distinguish btwn practising RCs and lapsed RCs
• Andrew Selous MP quotes Jesus' definition of marriage as between man & woman. Not merely a cultural norm but God's design from Creation.
• Matthew Offord MP: a flexible redefinition of marriage will lead to calls for further redefinitions e.g. polygamy, polyamory
• Eric Ollerenshaw MP should've studied the canon law and practice of the Catholic Church re marriage rather than ramble incoherently about it
• Pro-SSM MP Brooks Newmark quotes Orwell's Animal Farm. But Orwell would have opposed the state's power-grab of marriage from the people
• Andrea Leadsom MP: no mandate and no public clamour for same-sex marriage
• Bob Blackman MP: I've received 1000 letters against gay marriage, only 6 in favour
• Richard Drax MP: element of token politics in parliamentary push to redefine marriage
• Teachers who refuse to teach lessons about gay marriage will be disadvantaged, says Richard Drax MP
• Equalities spokeswoman Kate Green caricatures traditional definition of marriage as religious. Repeats nonsense that marriage evolves
• MPs now voting on whether to give the same-sex marriage bill a second reading
• 400 ayes, 175 noes on same-sex marriage bill 2nd reading
• MPs now voting on the government's programme motion (timetable of forthcoming stages of the bill)
• RT ‏@Gillibrand #marriagevote Parliament has just voted to defy natural law, acting way beyond their powers.
• MT @ProtectthePope: Shame on House of Commons - 400 for same-sex marriage, 175 against. Children will pay the price.
• MT @labourwhips: Preliminary figues suggest Cameron failed to get majority of Tory MPs. 139 voting No, 132 Yes.
• MT @LouiseMensch: David Cameron secures his place in history. > As PM who wrecked marriage in law for generations as yet unborn.
• Programme motion: ayes 499, 55 noes
• RT ‏@c4mtweets Blog» C4M delighted by the scale of the Parliamentary opposition to redefining marriage bill: Res... http://bit.ly/11QZbrt  #C4M #Marriage
• RT ‏@c4mtweets Blog» Gay marriage vote, ‘a disaster for Cameron’ says C4M: Tonight, 175 MPs voted against the Bi... http://bit.ly/11QZbHK  #C4M #Marriage
• Pro- #family MPs fight back in same-sex #marriage debate http://www.spuc.org.uk/news/releases/2013/february05 … #prolife

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Round-up of recent news on same-sex marriage

There is a great deal of press reporting and comment on the government's iniquitous proposals to legalize same-sex marriage - proposals they did not dare to put to the British electorate at the general election.

Without implying approval for any of the content of stories/articles/papers at the links below, I reproduce for your information, some of the main stories which have appeared today and over the weekend concerning the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) bill.

Church of England briefing for 2^nd reading

http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1657614/ssmarriagebillbriefing.pdf

Tory MP Caroline Dinenage: Banning gay couples from marrying ‘takes nothing away from their relationship’

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/04/tory-mp-caroline-dinenage-banning-gay-couples-from-marrying-takes-nothing-away-from-their-relationship/

Michael Gove op-ed supporting gay marriage

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2272531/Michael-Gove-Denying-gay-men-women-wrong.html#axzz2JvU3vYkw

The blogger Cranmer on “Cameron’s gay marriage hypocrisy”

http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/camerons-gay-marriage-hypocrisy.html

French National Assembly votes for gay marriage 249-97 in initial vote

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=16969

Tory waverers press-ganged to back Cameron on gay marriage vote

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-waverers-pressganged-to-back-cameron-on-gay-marriage-vote-8478712.html

Important essay by philosopher Roger Scruton and policy thinker Philip Blond against gay marriage

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2013/02/04/3682721.htm

Telegraph editorial criticising David Cameron

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9846189/Mr-Cameron-needs-a-more-civil-partnership.html

Grassroots Tories 'betrayed' by David Cameron over same-sex marriage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9845610/Grassroots-Tories-betrayed-by-David-Cameron-over-same-sex-marriage.html

New Archbishop of Canterbury challenges David Cameron on gay marriage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9846004/New-Archbishop-of-Canterbury-challenges-David-Cameron-on-gay-marriage.html

Two-thirds of Tory MPs could refuse to back gay marriage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9840756/Two-thirds-of-Tory-MPs-could-refuse-to-back-gay-marriage.html

Former Telegraph editor Charles Moore: “This Equality obsession is mad, bad and very dangerous”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-politics/9842384/This-Equality-obsession-is-mad-bad-and-very-dangerous.html

Cameron makes last-ditch push for same-sex marriage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9846639/Cameron-makes-last-ditch-push-for-same-sex-marriage.html

Only one voter in 14 says gay marriage is a priority issue that would be important in deciding next election

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/textbased/news/text-2273055/Only-voter-14-says-gay-marriage-priority-issue-important-deciding-election.html

Melanie Phillips  Why failing to stand up for marriage is the reason Tories are always in crisis

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/textbased/debate/text-2272935/Why-failing-stand-marriage-reason-Tories-crisis.html

Coalition for Marriage: Broken promises: Cameron said he had ‘no plans’ to redefine marriage

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2013/01/31/broken-promises-cameron-said-he-had-%E2%80%98no-plans%E2%80%99-to-redefine-marriage/

Coalition for Marriage 2^nd reading briefing

http://c4m.org.uk/downloads/secondreadingbriefing.pdf

Tobias Ellswood MP: I’m a ‘progressive Conservative’ but I will vote against gays marrying

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/02/tobias-ellswood-mp-im-a-progressive-conservative-but-i-will-vote-against-gays-marrying

Norman Tebbit: The same-sex marriage folly is symptomatic of the Coalition's inability to manage its affairs

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/normantebbit/100201058/the-same-sex-marriage-folly-is-symptomatic-of-the-coalitions-inability-to-manage-its-affairs/

Teachers free to speak out against same-sex marriage, insists Gove

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/article3677050.ece

40,000 TEACHERS RISK JOBS OVER GAY ROW

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/375219/40-000-teachers-risk-jobs-over-gay-row

Rebels line up to jilt Dave at the gay altar

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2272483/Rebels-line-jilt-Dave-gay-altar.html

Conservative party ripped apart by gay marriage vote

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9844514/Conservative-party-ripped-apart-by-gay-marriage-vote.html

Gay voters have described David Cameron’s support for same-sex marriage as a ‘cynical political stunt’.

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2013/02/02/gays-reject-coalitions-stunt/

Final plea by Maria Miller to MPs to vote for gay marriage

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/04/maria-miller-voting-for-same-sex-marriage-will-promote-stability-responsibility-and-pride

Ex-MP Paul Goodman: The same-sex marriage bill - and why I'm cutting the money I give to the Party

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2013/02/same-sex-marriage-and-why-im-cutting-the-money-i-give-to-the-party.html

David Burrowes MP in Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-burrowes-mp/gay-marriage-time-to-stand-up-for-the-progressive-and-conservative-institution-of-marriage_b_2612180.html

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