Monday, 30 June 2014

Listen to my talk to Nigeria's bishops via EWTN's Celtic Connections

As readers will recall, earlier this month I gave an address to the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria. You can now listen to my talk courtesy of EWTN's Celtic Connections programme, presented by Kathy Sinnott, the Irish former MEP and a good friend of SPUC.

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Sunday, 29 June 2014

Join the Rally for Life, Belfast, Sat 5 July

Liam Gibson of SPUC Northern Ireland writes:

"In a little under a week people from all over Ireland will converge on Belfast for the 8th annual Rally for Life. The rally will set-off from Custom House Square at 2pm, 5th July. As always it promises to be an enjoyable event for all the family.

Last July the rally brought the centre of Dublin to a standstill as an estimated 60,000 people turned out to protest against the Irish governments plans to legalise abortion. Despite this unprecedented level of public opposition the Irish abortion law, the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act (sic), came into effect on 1st January this year. Experience shows that when abortion is legalised it quickly becomes acceptable to the general public. But there is never an acceptable level of abortion, either it is stopped or the killing spreads. Already there is mounting pressure on both sides of the Border to permit the abortion of children with disabilities.

The victory of the abortion lobby in Ireland was a defeat for the pro-life movement globally. The politicians and abortion advocates are now watching how we react. They're looking for signs that we will simply give-up and go away so they can get on with legalising abortion on demand. If the people who came on to the streets last year don't want to see a further expansion of abortion in Ireland they cannot afford to stay at home Saturday 5th July."

Here are videos of the 2012 and 2013 rallies:

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Thursday, 26 June 2014

BREAKING NEWS UN Human Rights Council passes pro-family resolution

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council today passed a resolution for the "Protection of the Family" (link), despite opposition from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The resolution was passed by 26 votes in favour, with 14 votes against the resolution and six abstentions. Supporters of the resolution included the Russian Federation, India and Indonesia.

Earlier the Council rejected an amendment, designed to undermine the resolution, which promoted the false concept of "various forms of the family", as opposed to the natural family based upon marriage between a man and a woman.

Patrick Buckley, representing the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) www.spuc.org.uk at Geneva, described the vote as "truly historic". He said: "Rarely has a resolution been so vigorously resisted by anti-life and anti-family forces."

The resolution:

calls for "concerted actions to strengthen family-centred policies and programmes as part of an integrated comprehensve approach to human rights and development"
recognises that "the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children"
says that the family is "the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children"
describes the family "the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State"

Roll-call of votes on the resolution:

Yes (26):

Algeria
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
China
Congo
Cote d'Ivoire
Ethiopia
Gabon
India
Indonesia
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Maldives
Morocco
Namibia
Pakistan
Philippines
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
South Africa
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela
Vietnam

No (14):

Austria
Chile
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Montenegro
Republic of Korea
Romania
United Kingdom
United States of America

Abstained (6):

Argentina
Brazil
Costa Rica
Mexico
Peru
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

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Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Mixed opinions by judges in Nicklinson case shows danger of Falconer bill

The mixed opinions of judges in this morning’s Supreme Court judgment (read the court's press summary) in the Nicklinson case shows the danger of Parliament passing the Falconer assisted suicide bill.

The warning came from SPUC Pro-Life a leading anti-euthanasia group which was represented officially before the courts in the Pretty and Purdy cases.

Paul Tully, SPUC’s general secretary, told the media earlier this morning:

“Although the Supreme Court has rejected the Nicklinson appeal in general, several Supreme Court justices have encouraged and even pressured Parliament to pass Lord Falconer’s assisted suicide bill. Today's judgment shows the real danger that judges who want to see assisted suicide allowed will undermine the Falconer bill’s weak safeguards for vulnerable people if the bill is passed. This danger adds to the urgent need for Parliamentarians robustly to oppose the Falconer bill.

Death as a new 'right' is a false right, that will not empower the vulnerable, but will empower the strong to kill the weak, the clever to kill the less educated, the fit to kill the unfit, adults to kill children.

The recent lessons from places like Holland and Belgium are clear: once the medical profession is given power to kill certain adult patients, the 'dyke is breached' and a small trickle of killings grows gradually at first to encompass more and more people, who, whether able to consent or not, are deemed to be 'lebensunwertes Leben' - 'life unworthy of life'.

"Those who should be particularly concerned by this judgment include:

supporters of the hospice movement

medical specialists

care workers looking after elderly and disabled people

disability rights groups

people with congenital conditions like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down's Syndrome, and cystic fibrosis

people with acquired conditions like stroke, multiple sclerosis, dementia, and terminal cancers."

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Friends of the Family group of nations tables pro-family resolution at the Human Rights Council

A group of United Nations member states representing all regions of the world, calling themselves "Friends of the Family", has introduced a draft resolution entitled "Protection of the Family", at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Among other things, the draft resolution:

calls for "concerted actions to strengthen family-centred policies and programmes as part of an integrated comprehensve approach to human rights and development"
recognises that "the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children"
says that the family is "the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children"
describes the family "the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State"

Pro-family lobbyists at the Human Rights Council session in Geneva have welcomed the draft resolution (see text below). These lobbyists include the Family Rights Caucus, Human Life International and Pat Buckley, representing the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC):

"This much-needed and long overdue initiative is intended to be a procedural resolution only, seeking a debate on protection of the family during the September session of the Council, followed by a report from the new High Commissioner. Rarely has a resolution been so vigorously resisted by anti-life and family forces.

Despite the fact that all the family references included in the document are from previously agreed Human Rights Treaties and Conventions, to which every country has acceded, the UK negotiating on behalf of the EU, the US, Australia, Argentina, Switzerland, Norway and others have stated that in order to achieve consensus, the draft resolution must explicitly include language to the effect that: “in different cultural, social and political systems various forms of the family exist”.

The resolution, on the other hand, refers to the generic term ‘the family’ as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the other treaties and covenants that form the Bill of Rights

The attacks on the resolution are ongoing and include false claims regarding the purpose, intent and scope of the resolution.

In an attempt to broaden the scope of the resolution beyond its simple procedural intent, it has been falsely claimed that the draft resolution fails to acknowledge widespread human rights violations and abuses occurring within families and would thereby undermine the Human Rights Council’s ability to address such violations.

Such claims, according to the Family Rights Caucus, are not only absurd, but they are being used as scare tactics to pressure UN Member States, either to abandon, or substantially weaken, the draft resolution by dramatically changing its intent, title and focus.

The UN Member States hostile to this resolution know full well that the meaning of this phrase ‘various forms of the family’ has evolved over time and has become extremely controversial and divisive. In other words these countries are attempting to force their ideological views on all nations in a manner that will only cause further division between Member States. They hope that by continuing to push for this controversial language, they may be able to stop the resolution in its tracks.

2014 is the International Year of the Family and it is not only appropriate for the Human Rights Council to issue a resolution on the protection of the family unit, it was in fact called for by this year’s Commission on Social Development (CSD), in resolution (CN.5/2014/L.5) which:
Invites “United Nations agencies and bodies” (including the HRC) to conduct and report on “activities in support of the objectives of the International Year of the Family and its follow-up processes and to share good practices and data on family policy development,” and
Calls upon “United Nations and regional entities . . . to promote and advance family empowerment”

The HRC panel on the family by proposing the current draft resolution on ‘Protection of the Family’ certainly answers this call.

The Friends of the Family group currently includes the following member states.
Bangladesh, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Uganda and it is understood that more countries intend to join the group."

(One note of caution is the presence of China within the Friends of the Family group. China is of course notorious for its violation of family rights through its population control programme.)

In addition to the joint text above, Pat Buckley has sent the following message to the Friends of the Family Group:

"We are happy that a resolution on the family is finally under consideration and we believe that the currently proposed format is best for a procedural resolution.

We recommend that proposals to alter the title and to include such language as ‘various forms of the family’ should be resisted bearing in mind Article 16.3 of the Universal declaration on Human Rights, which uses the term ‘the family’;

“Whereas the United Nations has recognized that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, entitled to protection by society and State”
We submit that personal rights are well protected under other Conventions and Treaties and that protection of the family, far from being a threat to personal rights helps to underpin them.

To date however the family has largely been ignored despite the fact that it is one of the fundamental groups responsible for driving development and has been described by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon as the Key to attaining the SDCs.

“The majority of the Millennium Development targets, especially those relating to the reduction of poverty, education of children and reduction in maternal mortality, are difficult to attain unless the strategies to achieve them focus on the family.” (SG Family Report 2011 (A/66/62–E/2011/4)

Wednesday, 18 June 2014

Doctors must consult before issuing "do not resuscitate" notes

Janet Tracey

Top story:

Doctors must consult before issuing "do not resuscitate" notes
The Court of Appeal has ruled that patients or their families should be consulted before "do not resuscitate" (DNR) notices are placed in their notes. The ruling was made in the case of Janet Tracey, 63, who had terminal lung cancer. Doctors at Addenbrooke's hospital, Cambridge, had placed a DNR notice in her notes without consulting either her or her family. [Sky, 17 June]

Other stories:

Abortion

Georgia abortionist sentenced to 5 years in prison for criminal abortion [LifeSiteNews.com, 17 June]
Taxpayers funded almost all abortions in England and Wales in 2013 [SPUC, 12 June]
"We cannot be terrorised" Nigerian archbishop tells abortion lobby [John Smeaton, 12 June]

Embryology

Boss of sperm donation business charged with multiple sex assaults [Mail, 16 June]

Euthanasia

Kids should get help to kill themselves, say charities [Christian Institute, 17 June]

Sexual ethics

Latin American nations reject same-sex unions at international assembly [LifeSiteNews.com, 17 June]
San Francisco archbishop defies pressure to cancel March for Marriage appearance [LifeSiteNews.com, 16 June]

General

Communique from pro-life conference in Abuja, Nigeria [Culture of Life Africa, 18 June]
The Nigerian Pro-Life Anthem thrills me with its directness and innocence [John Smeaton, 13 June]
In loving memory of Margaret Ann Harris [John Smeaton, 13 June]

Friday, 13 June 2014

The Nigerian Pro-Life Anthem thrills me with its directness and innocence

The Nigerian Pro-Life Anthem which my SPUC colleagues and I heard performed last week in Abuja, at the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Pro-Life and Family Conference, is truly inspiring. It was performed in tribal dress from all over Nigeria.

It covers abortion, euthanasia, embryo research and the homosexual lifestyle. It is a loving affirmation of life and the family and the truth about human sexuality. Its directness and innocence (innocence of the fundamental undermining of authentic human and moral values) may be lost on many people in the West today.

The words of the song are printed below - and you can sing along. In Cardinal John Henry Newman's famous expression: "Heart speaks unto heart": The Nigerian Pro-Life Anthem, in its powerful simplicity and truth, thrilled me.

People in the West need also to reflect deeply on the teaching of Pope St John Paul II. In Evangelium Vitae paragraph 97, he taught that it is an illusion to think that we can build a true culture of human life if we do not offer adolescents and young adults an authentic education in sexuality, and in love, and the whole of life according to their true meaning and in their close interconnection.

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In loving memory of Margaret Ann Harris

Earlier this year, on 18th February, one of SPUC's staunchest supporters, Mrs Margaret Ann Harris, died. May she rest in peace!

Her life-time of work for the Society has been remembered and reflected in a most generous gift of £500 from monies (in lieu of flowers) collected at Margaret Ann's local church. Thus, through Mrs Harris's legacy - that is, her legacy of inspiring others to act to protect the lives of unborn children - a significant gift has been made which enables SPUC to continue our educational and political work in defence of those who cannot defend themselves.

David, her husband, tells me that a lot of the donations made at the church were from people unknown to him. On behalf of SPUC, I thank you all. We will not stop our work until every unborn child enjoys the full protection of the law.

I am sure that many of my readers will join me in prayer for the repose of Margaret's soul and will pray too that God may comfort and strengthen David, her husband, and all their family, at this difficult time.

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Thursday, 12 June 2014

Taxpayers funded almost all abortions in England and Wales in 2013

Paul Tully, SPUC's General Secretary, has published the following statement on the abortion statistics for England and Wales, just published, for 2013:

The abortion statistics for 2013 published for England and Wales today reveal once again a huge toll of child-killing, now almost wholly funded by taxpayers. Over 8 million unborn children have now officially been slaughtered under Britain's iniquitous abortion law, the Abortion Act 1967.

Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said: "More abortions than ever are now funded by the NHS, and most of them are performed in private clinics by the so-called abortion charities. Nearly 119,000 unborn children were killed in private hospitals in 2013 at taxpayers' expense. A further 62,000 unborn children were killed in NHS hospitals - also at taxpayers' expense.

"Against this backdrop, the encouraging signs in today's figures are very meagre. The abortion rate among under-18s has dropped slightly for the 6th year in succession. At the same time the number of under-18s who conceive and give birth is also dropping.

"In the late 1990s, nearly 60% of babies conceived to girls under 18 were born, rather than aborted. But by 2007, under the Blair government's "Teenage Pregnancy Strategy", one baby was killed for every one born to this age group. The latest figures show that about 52% of babies conceived by under-18s survive to be born.

"Births to teenagers have dropped by about 25% in the past 6 years, while abortions dropped by about 40%."

"Whatever commentators make of these figures, they disguise thousands of individual tragedies like the 13 year-old recently sent for an abortion by judge Sir James Munby, president of the High Court Family Division, despite reports that a psychiatrist told the court that the abortion could worsen the girl's mental state," concluded Mr Tully.

"We cannot be terrorised" Nigerian archbishop tells abortion lobby

I am still pinching myself whenever I think about my experience of the magnificent bishops who lead the Catholic Church in Nigeria.

At last week's pro-life conference in Abuja, organised by the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Conference, an official from the Nigerian health department arrived, strolled up to the podium and began to speak. A number of us were quite put out that he appeared to be taking the stage uninvited, with impunity, presenting the health department’s position as “pro-life” and then speaking vaguely about “reproductive health” etc.

After ten or 15 minutes of this, we wondered whether the bishops were being naive in letting him get away with it. Not so! ... as the video of the event I shot shows.

After about 15 minutes the presiding bishop rose to his feet to insist that the health official sit down and to listen to the conference speakers before he intervened any more.

When the health ministry official failed to leave the stage, a lawyer, Sonnie Ekwowusi, came forward and accused the health ministry official of lying about the government’s position.

As my second video, above, shows, he was immediately followed by Theresa Okafor, a member of the Holy See’s delegation at the UN, who told conference delegates that the health official had used ambiguous language in describing the Government's position on life issues. She explained that government and UN bodies interpret the right to “reproductive health” as the right to abortion on demand.

When the health official began to respond, the presiding bishop sternly ordered him to sit down and crossly deplored the health department’s action in sending along an official to lecture the conference and to lecture the Church; next time the bishops hold a pro-life conference, he said, government officials should be there, and should have the respect to listen to what is being said. Then a proper conversation with the government could take place.

At the end of the Conference, Archbishop Kaigama (pictured without a poster below), the president of the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Conference, said: "We cannot be terrorized into doing anything to diminish life and the family. We don't want an abortion industry in Africa. We want industries which produce food, which builds homes and roads, and other practical things which people need. Someone from the government came to give a lecture. They should have listened. This is not the way it should be!"

Please pray for Archbishop Kaigama and his fellow bishops. They see themselves, rightly, at the centre of the global defence of life, the truth about human sexuality, and moral values.

A few of the bishops who participated in the Nigerian
Catholic Bishops' Pro-Life Conference in Abuja

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Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Judge orders abortion on girl, 13, with intellect of 7 year old

Sir James Munby

Top story:

Judge orders abortion on girl, 13, with intellect of 7 year old
The High Court in London has approved an abortion in the case of a mentally-impaired teenager. The girl, aged 13, was said to have the intellect of a seven year-old. Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division of the High Court, held that an abortion was in the girl's best interests [Mail, 10 June]

Other stories:

Abortion

Planned Parenthood removes letter claiming Bible okays abortion [LifeNews.com, 9 June]
Thug attacked girlfriend to abort their unborn baby [Mail, 9 June]
Police use draconian 'riot law' to break up pro-life vigil outside abortion clinic [Mail, 7 June]
Russian Orthodox believers collect 100,000 signatures against abortion [Interfax, 29 May]

Embryology

Robert Winston: my research could open door to 'risky' eugenics [Telegraph, 6 June]
Three-parent embryo technique flouts global ethics says SPUC [SPUC, 4 June]

Euthanasia

Belgian deacon confessed to killing up to 50 people in Catholic hospital [LifeSiteNews.com, 6 June]

Population

Nigerian village chief astonished to meet English woman with six children [John Smeaton, 7 June]

General

Nigerian bishops give standing ovation for UK pro-life leader's tough words [SPUC, 6 June]
Students at pro-life conference in Nigeria [John Smeaton, 5 June]
Catholic knights in Nigeria do major pro-life projects [John Smeaton, 5 June]
Job opportunity: Personal Secretary to SPUC's Chief Executive [SPUC, 3 June]

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Bishop of Oyo leads Nigerian bishops' pro-life conference in song

Enjoy a brief glimpse of the sense of togetherness between the bishops and their people in the pro-life battle, expressed in song and followed by dance, which SPUC's team of speakers experienced at the Nigerian bishops' pro-life conference in Abuja last week.

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Saturday, 7 June 2014

Nigerian village chief astonished to meet English woman with six children

Antonia Tully, along with other speakers at the International Family and Pro-Life Conference hosted by the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, visited a poor village on the outskirts of Abuja where the conference is taking place. Antonia, Pat Buckley and I are speaking at the bishops' conference on behalf of SPUC.

Here's how Antonia described her trip:

"The group was accompanied by Sister Cecilia, a Medical Missionary of Mary, who runs an outreach project to support and care for vulnerable families in the village of Dutse Alhaji.

"By western standards, Dutse Alhaji presents a shocking picture. The houses are crumbling, roughly-built brick dwellings with corrugated iron roofs. Families cook over open fires. The narrow pathways between the houses are umade dirt tracks, with open waste waterways criss-crossing the village. This is a very poor place.

"The visiting party was welcomed by the village chief, a Muslim, who invited the group into his palace - a lowly building only slightly better than the surrounding houses.

"Having removed their shoes, the other visitors and I sat on the floor while the chief presided over the gathering from his sofa, dressed in his regal robes.

"I introduced myself saying that I was married with six children and in my role at SPUC I do a lot of work with Muslim mothers in England, helping them to protect their children from immoral sex education.

"Replying to his visitors, the village chief expressed his astonishment at meeting a white woman who has six children. 'Why are we being told that we should only have two children?' he exclaimed.

"The chief spoke of the common ground tween Islam and Christianity ... that the people of both religions should strive to lead Godly lives and protect unborn children. The chief also said that he wanted to give a message to the people of his village that men and women must be faithful to their partners.

"The purpose of the visit to Dutse Alhaji was to witness at first hand the target of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the other agencies of the culture of death.

"Yes, the villagers of Dutse Alhaji are living in very poor circumstances. Yes, every effort must be made to improve their material circumstances.

"But bribing and cajoling the villagers of Dutse Alhaji, as the population control lobby commonly does, into accepting contraception and abortion, is not the solution. Offering the poor people of villages like Dutse Alhaji contraception and abortion is not the answer to their daily hardships."

Friday, 6 June 2014

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

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Students at pro-life conference in Nigeria today

Antonia Tully, Pat Buckley, and I are speaking at the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Pro-Life conference today in Abuja at the National Christian Ecumenical Centre. I have just been chatting to students from Benin University:

They travelled for six hours this morning to take part in the conference. That's pro-life commitment! And thank God for the Nigerian bishops!

Students and other delegates have been coming to SPUC's information desk:

Seen here manning the stall is Jean Fleuron, a SPUC volunteer from Newcastle who came independently to attend the conference. Jean is developing a pro-life outreach to Nigerian Catholics in the UK.

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Catholic knights in Nigeria do major pro-life projects

Antonia Tully, my SPUC colleague for over 30 years, and I are in Abuja, Nigeria. We are speaking at a pro-life conference organised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria. Last night we were the guests of the Knights of St Mulumba of Nigeria and our host is Sir Alexander Bazuaye, a doctor and the Supreme Physician of the Knights of St Mulumba. We are joined by Obianuju Ekeocha, the founder of Culture of Life Africa, who is the eminence grise behind the bishops' conference. In the second picture we are joined by Professor Anthony Emeribe, chief executive officer of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria and secretary of the Knights of St Mulumba. The Knights carry out major pro-life projects, including speaking in schools about abortion, as well as pro-life marches and religious processions on the Feast of the Annunciation each year involving their 24,000 members and 202 local Councils.

I presented Sir Alexander with a letter from Ron Lynch, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of St Columba, which, like the Knights of St Mulumba, is a member of the International Association of Catholic Knights. Among other things, Ron wrote:

"I was delighted to hear that John Smeaton, who is a member of the Knights of St Columba here in Britain, will have the privilege and pleasure of meeting you during his trip this week to Abuja for the pro-life conference organised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria.

John is also, of course, the chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, the oldest pro-life group in the world, with which the Knights of St Columba works closely.

Our Order is very much aware of the huge pressures on African nations from powerful western governments - including the US and the British governments as well as the European Union, of course - to legalise abortion. We also know that abortion is anathema to Nigerians. Your love of children, your championing of the traditional family, your respect for the role of parents and grandparents, are qualities which are known throughout the world. We will be praying that your love and respect for life, for marriage and for the family will strengthen you in your resistance to abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and of classroom sex education usurping the role of parents as primary educators."

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Three-parent embryo technique flouts global ethics

SPUC has responded to the claim reported today by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that the technique labelled "mitochondrial donation" may be safe for humans.

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

"Human gene manipulation is being sold to a gullible public on a promise of reducing suffering, the same old con-trick that the test-tube baby lobby has been using for decades.

Gene manipulation can only be pursued by breaking several important moral rules. Those rules are not trivial. They are designed to uphold human dignity, the integrity of science and the international community. Human germ-line manipulation and cloning – changing the genetic inheritance of future generations - goes against internationally-agreed norms for ethical science.

It entails creating human guinea-pigs. As Professor Andy Greenfield, the chairman of the scientific review panel that has approved the techniques, has himself admitted, we won't know the effects until it is actually done on children. To do this, we have to subject children who have not consented and cannot consent to being test subjects. What if they refuse to be subjected to the long-term testing and monitoring necessary (in them and their offspring) to find any adverse long-term effects?

If the process produces any benefit it will not only be at the cost of risks for these children, but it will further undermine the British political and medical establishment as a force for ethical restraint in science around the world.

By flouting international agreements not to do this, we will lose credibility when it comes to trying to persuade other countries to observe ethical norms in fields like medical research, experiments involving children, and non-consensual procedures. Why should other countries listen to us when we make unilateral decisions to engage in abuses?

The use of these techniques shows that the advocates of IVF who claimed 25 years ago that it would not lead to human genetic manipulation were either being naïve, foolish or frankly deceitful.

The techniques will not stop here. Who is to decide what other so-called "flaws" in people's genes should be "corrected? As we have seen with the sex-selection abortion saga, what one culture regards as abhorrent and illegal, others see as the legitimate application of science to solve a problem of human suffering."

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Job opportunity: Personal Secretary

Job opportunity: Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive

A key role in building grassroots support for the pro-life movement in the UK

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) www.spuc.org.uk is keen to recruit a Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive based at its London HQ. The post is part-time (15-25 hours per week, negotiable). Salary details available on request.

The role:

Applicants must have:

an absolute commitment to the pro-life cause
a minimum of 3 years’ experience working at director/board level
be able to cope with a wide range of secretarial responsibilities.

Duties will include:

drafting letters
taking dictation
maintaining a filing system
assisting in making travel arrangements
photocopying and printing.

Advanced word-processing and shorthand skills essential. You must enjoy working under pressure and have excellent communication and organisational skills.

The deadline for applications is Mon 7 July 2014.

For more information or to receive an application form please contact:
Patrick Kingman, SPUC, Unit B, 3 Whitacre Mews, London, SE11 4AB. Email: patrickkingman@spuc.org.uk Telephone: 020 7820 3121

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Monday, 2 June 2014

Parish priest backs new Yeovil SPUC branch

Yesterday Josephine, my wife, and I were in Yeovil in beautiful Somerset. I made an appeal for support for a new SPUC branch - strongly backed by Fr Jean-Patrice Coulon, the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Ghost. John Marsden and Mary Jordan, standing to my right, are organising the new group and we're pictured with the PP, with Josephine on my left, and with some of our new supporters. Praise God!

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.