The abortion lobby has made it clear that they will be hijacking the upcoming Domestic Abuse Bill. As the name suggests, the Bill is designed to support victims of domestic abuse. Sadly, abortion campaigners are aiming to amend this piece of legislation to introduce abortion-on-demand to Northern Ireland and extreme changes to abortion legislation in England and Wales.
A Committee of MPs and peers is currently undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft version of the Dometic Abuse Bill. They will then be reporting back to the Government with recommended changes to the Bill. Pro-abortion MP Diana Johnson is one of the MPs on the Committee and the abortion lobby will likely use this Committee to try to encourage the Government to make changes to the Bill to make it easier for them to amend the Dometic Abuse Bill later in the year.
It would be helpful if you could take 5-minutes to make a short submission to the Committee asking them to ensure that the focus of the Bill is kept on domestic abuse and that they do not make the Bill easier for the abortion lobby to hijack. To help you do this we have put together an easy-to-follow guide below, with steps on how to make a submission and an outline of what you may include in your submission.
HOW TO MAKE A SUBMISSION
- Write up your submission in a word document. Below is a rough outline of the format for making a submission. If you do not have Microsoft Word installed on your computer, you can use a free online tool to create a word document such as Microsoft Word Online.
Written Evidence submitted by <Your name>
Outline the key points you want to make in your submission – guidance on potential areas to include are provided in the draft points section below.
- Visit the submission page by clicking here. Enter your contact details and upload your submission. Click submit.
DRAFT POINTS THAT CAN BE INCLUDED IN YOUR SUBMISSION
Important – Your submission will be most effective if it is in your own words and focuses on the points below. It will unlikely be helpful in this context to cover wider arguments against abortion in your submission. If you want to make a case against abortion to MPs, this is best made directly to your local MP rather than as part of a submission on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
Draft points
- Outline any positive comments you wish to make about the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
- Cover that you are aware that some people want this Bill to include abortion.
- However, abortion is a very controversial and divisive issue that should not be considered in the context of this Bill.
- Any changes to abortion legislation need proper consultation, scrutiny and debate.
- Cover that you are aware that some campaigners are calling for the Bill to be used to amend Northern Ireland’s laws on abortion.
- Outline that Westminster cannot selectively interfere in devolved matters.
- A number of MPs have affirmed this point on devolution and it has been consistently upheld by the Government.
- For example, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley MP, affirmed that “The Government believe that the question of any future reform in Northern Ireland must be debated and decided by the people of Northern Ireland and their locally elected, and therefore accountable, politicians.”
- Polling undertaken by ComRes in October 2018 showed that people in Northern Ireland do not want abortion laws imposed on them by Westminster.
- 64% of people in Northern Ireland agree.
- In the same poll, 66% of women and 70% of 18-30 year olds agreed.
Further information on making a submission is available here.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE DRAFT DOMESTIC ABUSE BILL
The Domestic Abuse Bill’s main objective is to improve the response to domestic violence/abuse by introducing a statutory definition of domestic abuse, establishing a Domestic Abuse Commissioner, and providing new court protections for victims. As the name suggests, the Bill is designed to support victims of domestic abuse.
Further information on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill is available here.