At least 129 unborn babies have been aborted in Northern Ireland under the extreme abortion regime imposed on the province, it has been revealed.
The tragic figure was released by Health Minister Robin Swann in response to a written question from MLA Paul Givan.
The pro-life MLA asked how many abortion notifications Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer had received since the regulations came into force.
In his reply the Health Minister said that 129 such notifications had been received between 31 March and 22 May.
Sadly, the figure is likely to be even higher as the Health Minister further disclosed that those performing a termination ‘service’ in the province had up to 14 days to send a notification. It means that some abortions performed before 22 May and all performed after 22 May won’t be included this figure.
The new regime, which came into force on 31 March, allows abortion up to the point of birth for all disabilities, including cleft lip, club foot and Down’s syndrome.
Abortion is available de-facto on demand through to 24-weeks and available on-demand, without conditionality, up to 12 weeks of pregnancy for the first time in the UK, allowing for sex-selective abortion to be available on-demand.
On Tuesday, MLAs at the Northern Ireland Assembly voted by 46 votes to 40 to pass a motion stating the Northern Ireland Assembly’s opposition to the extreme abortion regime.
Then, on Thursday, just two days after the vote in Northern Ireland, a large group of cross-party MPs raised a multitude of concerns over the regulations with the Minister for Northern Ireland, Robin Walker MP.
Among others, questions were raised over whether the UK Government really had an obligation to impose such an extreme abortion regime and over the “deep flaws” in the regulations which make it one of the “most liberal abortion laws in Europe”.
DUP MP Ian Paisley said that giving back control to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the people of Northern Ireland is the “democratic thing to do, the right thing to do, and the appropriate thing to do.”
However, in response to these various questions, Robin Walker MP repeatedly reiterated the claim that the Conservative Government had obligations to deliver abortion in Northern Ireland.
Additionally, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has declared the UK Government will not change the regulations despite Tuesday’s vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Thursday’s debate.
MPs and Peers at the UK Parliament are due to vote later this month on whether to approve or reject regulations that introduce an extreme abortion regime to Northern Ireland.
If MPs and Peers vote down the redrafted regulations, the UK Government will then be forced to draft the regulations for a third time to be either less extreme or bring forward legislation allowing parliament to vote on revoking the regulations. The second of those options would give back control to the people of Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Assembly.
This week, Northern Irish Peer Baroness O’Loan and Northern Irish MP Carla Lockhart have joined forces to facilitate an open letter to all MPs and Peers across the UK from the people of Northern Ireland.
The letter asks these MPs and Peers not to disenfranchise the people in Northern Ireland – the only people who will be impacted by the law – by drowning out and undermining the voices of their representatives.
This follows the last Westminster vote on Northern Ireland’s abortion regulations in July 2019, in which 100% of Northern Irish MPs present voted against the legislation. However, abortion was imposed on Northern Ireland regardless because of the greater number of English, Welsh and Scottish MPs, enforcing their different view on the province.
Baroness O’Loan and Carla Lockhart are now asking the public in Northern Ireland to join them by putting their names on the open letter which asks British MPs and Peers to respect devolution by either voting to give the final say back to the Northern Ireland Assembly or, if they feel unable to do this, to abstain from voting on the matter.
The MP and Peer have also asked the public to help them get as many names as possible on the letter ahead of the Regulations being debated in the Houses of Commons and the House of Lords.
A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson said:
“Tragically, the extreme abortion regime being forced upon the people of Northern Ireland has already resulted in the abortion of at least 129 unborn babies.
“Northern Ireland is a country where 100,000 people are alive today because they chose to protect unborn babies over accepting the same abortion law that was introduced into Britain in 1967.
“If it wasn’t already clear, the actions of this past week show the people of Northern Ireland do not want these extreme abortion regulations imposed on them.
“The UK Government and Westminster now have absolutely no mandate whatsoever to impose abortion on Northern Ireland,
“Yet, Government officials have revealed they will continue to ignore the will of the people of Northern Ireland and continue regardless.
“The best way of preventing them is if the Government loses its coming vote on the regulations and does the right thing in handing back the decision to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
“This joint letter by Baroness O’Loan and Carla Lockhart will help persuade MPs this is the right thing to do and we, therefore, would encourage many people to sign it and share it.”
