Archbishop of Canterbury can be attending abortion vote in Lords on Wednesday

The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury has confirmed she can be joining a key vote on abortion within the House of Lords this Wednesday after there was backlash over the suggestion she is perhaps absent as a consequence of a planned pilgrimage.

Archbishop Sarah Mullally got here under pressure to substantiate whether she can be at Parliament for the vote on the Crime and Policing Bill after announcing that she would embark on a six-day pilgrimage to Canterbury on Tuesday. 

She faced fierce criticism from pro-life campaigners including the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) and members of her own Church who feared that she can be absent from the vote on Wednesday evening.

SPUC said it might have been a “damning indictment on Sarah Mullally personally, and the Church of England hierarchy more generally” if she had did not attend. It is asking on the Archbishop and bishops to be as vocal against extreme abortion measures as they’ve been against Kim Leadbeater’s bill to legalise assisted suicide. 

A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace has confirmed that she can be there for the vote and that her pilgrimage won’t be affected. 

“The Archbishop can be within the House of Lords on Wednesday to vote on the proposed amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill. It won’t affect the pilgrimage or its route, which starts this afternoon,” they said. 

The House of Lords is voting on amendments to the UK government’s Crime and Policing Bill, specifically a controversial abortion reform clause.

At the centre of the clause is a proposal to decriminalise abortion at any stage of the pregnancy for ladies in England and Wales.

MPs within the House of Commons voted last yr in favour of fixing the present legal framework in order that a lady would not be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy, even when it occurred after the 24-week legal limit. 

Opponents of the change say it effectively legalises abortion as much as birth for any reason. 

Dr Calum Miller, a medical doctor and ethicist, has been vocal in calling on Church of England bishops to attend Wednesday’s vote. 

He said it was “excellent news” that Archbishop Mullally plans to attend, while urging other bishops to follow suit. 

Archbishop Mullally’s 140km-pilgrimage starts from St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Tuesday afternoon. It is a component of her spiritual preparation before officially commencing her public ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury together with her installation service at Canterbury Cathedral on 25 March. 

The Archbishop’s stance on abortion has come under scrutiny since her appointment as Justin Welby’s successor after she said previously that she would describe herself more as “pro-choice quite than pro-life”. 

She clarified her position in comments to Church Times last October.

“I’m aware that I actually have previously been labelled as ‘pro-choice’ — perhaps due to my previous profession — but this can be a complex debate, and I don’t think my or others’ views might be so simply categorised,” she said.

“I support the Church of England’s principled opposition to abortion, which comes with a recognition that there might be strictly limited conditions under which abortion could also be preferable to any available alternatives.

“Above all else, women facing unwanted pregnancies require compassion and care, and a path that supports them. They are confronted with the toughest of selections, and they need to be supported.”