More than 200 Church of England clergy, including plenty of bishops, have signed a letter describing abortion as much as birth as “a dangerous change”.
Last week the House of Commons voted to remove legal penalties for ladies who abort their babies beyond the present legal limit of 24 weeks. In practice, the proposed law, which still must pass the House of Lords, will allow abortion as much as the purpose of birth.
In the letter, which has been seen by The Telegraph, the clergy said that unborn children were “deserving of compassion and… [need] protection under the law”. They also warned that ought to unrestricted abortion develop into law then each women and their unborn children shall be “at even greater risk of harm than previously”.
Opponents of the change have suggested that the removal of criminal sanctions may also effectively remove deterrents for dangerous late term and “back-street” abortions.
The letter says, “As many elected politicians move further away from the Christian moral values which have hitherto shaped much that is nice in our national life, our concern is that the vulnerable and voiceless are increasingly missed.”
The letter also warned of the hazards of ladies being coerced into abortions, particularly in cases where sexual or domestic abuse are aspects. They also highlighted the hazards of at-home abortions, which at the moment are easier than ever due to the “pills-by-post” scheme, allowing women to conduct abortions without even meeting a medical skilled in person.
The clergy concluded, “All of this makes for a dangerous change which we consider, removed from protecting women, places pregnant women and unborn children at even greater risk of harm than previously.
“It is our sincere hope that this laws shall be further modified within the House of Lords to guard those that are vulnerable.”
Signatories of the letter included the bishops of Chichester, Birmingham, Lincoln, Rochester and Blackburn.
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