JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Scottish registered abortion numbers fall again

Friday, 30 May 2014

Scottish registered abortion numbers fall again

Top stories:

Scottish registered abortion rate falls again
The annual rate of registered abortions in Scotland has fallen again, reports The Scotsman. According to the newspaper, "A total of 11,777 terminations were carried out in 2013, representing a rate of 11.2 per 1,000 women aged 15-44, official health statistics show. It is the lowest abortion rate since 2002, when the rate was 11.1, and continues the downward trend since 2008, when abortion rates peaked at 13.3. In 2012, the rate stood at 11.9." [Scotsman, 27 May]

Government abortion guidance "weak" and "fails to uphold law" says SPUC
The government’s newly-issued guidance on abortion is "weak" and "fails to uphold the law", says SPUC, the UK’s main pro-life political organisation. The Department of Health last week issued guidance on various aspects of abortion law and practice, such as sex-selective abortion, pre-signing of abortion authorisation forms and doctors’ assessment of abortion cases. Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, said that the guidance "endorses weak restrictions on some practices but promotes an underlying agenda of abortion-on-demand." [SPUC, 27 May]

Other stories:

Abortion

Chilean bishops express concern over abortion plans [Catholic Herald, 23 May]

Embryology

Christian GP under investigation for refusing fertility treatment to lesbian couple [Mail, 27 May]

Population

Chinese father of four commits suicide over one-child policy fines [LifeSiteNews.com, 27 May]

Sexual ethics

Philippine bishops and local officials argue over teen pregnancies [UCA, 28 May]
Archbishop Smith/CBCEW defends homosexual civil partnerships, despite Catholic teaching to the contrary [John Smeaton, 22 May]

General

Bishop Sherrington celebrates national Mass for pro-life groups [John Smeaton, 28 May]
Mother who refused brain surgery to protect her baby is recovering after giving birth while in coma [LifeSiteNews.com, 27 May]

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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.