JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Spanish abortion restrictions "sincere but misguided" says SPUC

Saturday, 21 December 2013

Spanish abortion restrictions "sincere but misguided" says SPUC

Mariano Rajoy, Spanish PM

Proposals by the Spanish government to tighten abortion laws in fulfilment of pre-election pledges demonstrate the sincerity of the politicians, but amount to misguided compromises that lack sound rational basis.

The proposed law would allow abortion when doctors decided there was a threat to the mother's health or when it was suspected or alleged that the baby was conceived in a non-consensual act.

Paul Tully, SPUC's general-secretary, told the media earlier today:

"Killing unborn children conceived in rape perpetuates the stigma of rape and punishes the wrong people. There is no rational basis for saying that babies in this situation are any different from others or deserve to be killed before birth.

The same can be said of situations where there is a threat to the mother's health. In some situations the care of children after birth may have a serious effect on the mother's health. Should we kill children in those situations?

The law should not be based on arbitrary decisions about past events or the limitations of health services, but on protection of the human person. Our awareness of the human characteristics of the unborn increases from year to year with new discoveries about the behaviour of the baby in the womb and his or her developing capacities."

Abortion poses risks to mental health, as British experience testifies, with cases like that of Emma Beck from Cornwall who committed suicide after an abortion. Physical risks to women who have supposedly safe, quasi-legal abortions are serious too. Young healthy women such as Alesha Thomas, Jessie-Maye Barlow and Manon Jones have all died in recent years from the physical aftermath of abortions. These cases may only be the tip of the iceberg. NHS numbers are not recorded for abortions, which can make it impossible to tell whether a young woman who becomes critically ill or dies has recently had an abortion.

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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.