Cardinal in bid to re-open abortion debate

-22/06/06

The Catholic Archbishop of Westmi


Cardinal in bid to re-open abortion debate

-22/06/06

The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor, has sought to re-open the public debate on abortion and bio-ethical decision-making in a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt.

But his intervention has received a cool response from the government, amid concerns about identifying the issues too closely with the Catholic Churchís blanket disapproval of all contraception and reproductive decision-making for women.

Although the meeting was billed as ëprivateí, the Cardinalís own press office released details yesterday. He told Ms Hewitt that it was time for Parliament to review the 1967 Abortion Act in the face of mounting concern in the country at the frequency and number of abortions.

The Cardinal argues that the current legislation needs re-examining by Parliament, as was recommended last year in a report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee. Its chairperson, Ian Gibson MP, has signed an early day motion tabled by Geraldine Smith MP, calling for such a review.

Cardinal Murphy O’Connor declared: ìThis is not primarily a religious issue. It is a human issue. Abortion is the wrong answer to fear and insecurity. As a society we need to look at ways of supporting women who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy.î

According to the Cardinal: ìThere are now 190,000 abortions each year ñ more than 20 per cent of all pregnancies in the UK. Each one of these is a tragedy both for the unborn child and the mother.î

He went on: ìThere is substantial and growing disquiet in Britain at the numbers of abortions. Our laws should reflect this disquiet. I welcome what appears to be a moral awakening, especially among women, to the reality that abortion is the deliberate ending of a human life. People know, perhaps instinctively, that the goodness of a society is known not by its wealth but by the way which it treats the most vulnerable of human beings, the ones with little or no claim on public attention.î

But Ms Hewitt refused to contemplate legislation to change an 18-year-old law which makes abortion legal up until the 24th week of pregnancy. The government has also decided it is not going to arrange for a free vote by MPs. Instead, it has left it up to opponents of the 1988 law to find a sympathetic MP prepared to tread the difficult path of introducing a private member’s Bill.

According to official statistics, terminations late in pregnancy are rare. Department of Health figures show that 88 per cent are carried out within the first 13 weeks, and 60 per cent within the first 10 weeks. But the number of women living in England and Wales who opt for an abortion has risen. In 2004, there were 185,400 – an increase of 2.1 per cent on the previous year.

Anti-abortion campaigners wish to see legal restrictions on abortion. But those who question or oppose this argue that education, economic, social reform and positive alternatives are the best way to reduce the number of terminations without criminalising women or encouraging back-street operations.

The churches, too, are divided on matters of bioethics, with debates on the point of origin of life, ensoulment and the boundaries between natural and induced medical interventions often deeply polarised.

The Catholic leader has also urged the Health Secretary to back calls for a national bioethics commission, of the sort that exists in many other west European countries, as well as Australia and the United States.

The Cardinal believes that the current mechanisms are inadequate for dealing with ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies such as embryonic stem-cell research and genetic screening of embryos used in IVF.

He declared: ìThere is public disquiet at the lack of openness and consultation over important ethical issues affecting the future of society. The public need greater assurance that these big issues are being given adequate attention and not decided by unaccountable bodies,î the Cardinal said.

The Cardinal claims that a single statutory body is needed to provide authoritative guidance to Parliament and Government, and to help raise awareness in the media and in society at large of the complex issues involved.

ìWe need greater public involvement,î he said, adding: ìScience is speeding ahead of our capacity for reflection. We need a far broader public debate about these vital questions, which touch on the very origin and sanctity of life.î

However, critics say that the Catholic Church is not best placed to encourage debate when its own views are fixed and immovable, and that the Cardinal’s claim that his approach to Ms Hewitt is not about “a religious issue” is belied by the Church’s public record.

It is now probable that a committee of MPs and peers will hold a formal inquiry into the number of late abortions and the most recent scientific and medical evidence in order to keep the issue under review.

[Also on Ekklesia: Economic injustice leads to rising abortion under Bush; Pro-lifers warn over Howard abortion proposal; US evangelical argues for radical Democrat agenda; Catholic minister for equality in trouble over views on homosexuality; Political agendas of Evangelicals may be broadening; God and the politicians – an Ekklesia response]


Cardinal in bid to re-open abortion debate

-22/06/06

The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor, has sought to re-open the public debate on abortion and bio-ethical decision-making in a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt.

But his intervention has received a cool response from the government, amid concerns about identifying the issues too closely with the Catholic Churchís blanket disapproval of all contraception and reproductive decision-making for women.

Although the meeting was billed as ëprivateí, the Cardinalís own press office released details yesterday. He told Ms Hewitt that it was time for Parliament to review the 1967 Abortion Act in the face of mounting concern in the country at the frequency and number of abortions.

The Cardinal argues that the current legislation needs re-examining by Parliament, as was recommended last year in a report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee. Its chairperson, Ian Gibson MP, has signed an early day motion tabled by Geraldine Smith MP, calling for such a review.

Cardinal Murphy O’Connor declared: ìThis is not primarily a religious issue. It is a human issue. Abortion is the wrong answer to fear and insecurity. As a society we need to look at ways of supporting women who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy.î

According to the Cardinal: ìThere are now 190,000 abortions each year ñ more than 20 per cent of all pregnancies in the UK. Each one of these is a tragedy both for the unborn child and the mother.î

He went on: ìThere is substantial and growing disquiet in Britain at the numbers of abortions. Our laws should reflect this disquiet. I welcome what appears to be a moral awakening, especially among women, to the reality that abortion is the deliberate ending of a human life. People know, perhaps instinctively, that the goodness of a society is known not by its wealth but by the way which it treats the most vulnerable of human beings, the ones with little or no claim on public attention.î

But Ms Hewitt refused to contemplate legislation to change an 18-year-old law which makes abortion legal up until the 24th week of pregnancy. The government has also decided it is not going to arrange for a free vote by MPs. Instead, it has left it up to opponents of the 1988 law to find a sympathetic MP prepared to tread the difficult path of introducing a private member’s Bill.

According to official statistics, terminations late in pregnancy are rare. Department of Health figures show that 88 per cent are carried out within the first 13 weeks, and 60 per cent within the first 10 weeks. But the number of women living in England and Wales who opt for an abortion has risen. In 2004, there were 185,400 – an increase of 2.1 per cent on the previous year.

Anti-abortion campaigners wish to see legal restrictions on abortion. But those who question or oppose this argue that education, economic, social reform and positive alternatives are the best way to reduce the number of terminations without criminalising women or encouraging back-street operations.

The churches, too, are divided on matters of bioethics, with debates on the point of origin of life, ensoulment and the boundaries between natural and induced medical interventions often deeply polarised.

The Catholic leader has also urged the Health Secretary to back calls for a national bioethics commission, of the sort that exists in many other west European countries, as well as Australia and the United States.

The Cardinal believes that the current mechanisms are inadequate for dealing with ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies such as embryonic stem-cell research and genetic screening of embryos used in IVF.

He declared: ìThere is public disquiet at the lack of openness and consultation over important ethical issues affecting the future of society. The public need greater assurance that these big issues are being given adequate attention and not decided by unaccountable bodies,î the Cardinal said.

The Cardinal claims that a single statutory body is needed to provide authoritative guidance to Parliament and Government, and to help raise awareness in the media and in society at large of the complex issues involved.

ìWe need greater public involvement,î he said, adding: ìScience is speeding ahead of our capacity for reflection. We need a far broader public debate about these vital questions, which touch on the very origin and sanctity of life.î

However, critics say that the Catholic Church is not best placed to encourage debate when its own views are fixed and immovable, and that the Cardinal’s claim that his approach to Ms Hewitt is not about “a religious issue” is belied by the Church’s public record.

It is now probable that a committee of MPs and peers will hold a formal inquiry into the number of late abortions and the most recent scientific and medical evidence in order to keep the issue under review.

[Also on Ekklesia: Economic injustice leads to rising abortion under Bush; Pro-lifers warn over Howard abortion proposal; US evangelical argues for radical Democrat agenda; Catholic minister for equality in trouble over views on homosexuality; Political agendas of Evangelicals may be broadening; God and the politicians – an Ekklesia response]