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UK Parliament abortion fight now moves onto the Lords

MPs voted 332 – 99 in favour of undermining the sovereignty of Northern Ireland by voting for an amendment which has the potential to lead to widespread changes to abortion legislation in Northern Ireland and possibly also England and Wales.

Yesterday evening (Tuesday 08/07), several abortion related amendments were chosen to be debated in relation to a Bill intended to extend the period for the formation of an Executive in Northern Ireland. A number of MPs were deeply critical of the fact that these amendments were accepted by the Chair of the debate, Dame Eleanor Laing MP. The abortion amendments were not related to the substance of the Bill at all and so, it was argued, were “out of scope” of the Bill.

Ian Paisley MP said during the debate: “This Bill is called the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill, yet the debate has been pretty thin on how an Executive could be formed again in Northern Ireland. In fact, we have had a debate about every other ​issue under the sun except what we are supposed to be debating.”

In addition to the abortion amendments being criticised for being beyond the scope of the Bill, MPs were keen to point out that the supposed ‘right to abortion’ to which those advocating for abortion in Northern Ireland appealed, does not, in fact, exist: as Mr Paisley said “there is no right to abortion in any international treaties.”

Abortion remains a devolved issue in Northern Ireland and pro-abortion MP, Maria Miller, made clear that she could not support these amendments because of their potentially wide-reaching effects on the whole of the UK and the devolution settlement in Northern Ireland. The DUP’s Westminster leader, Nigel Dodds MP, added that the amendments would “drive a coach and horses through the principle of devolution”.

In an unusual move, the Scottish National Party, which makes a point of abstaining in devolved matters (having their own devolved powers, they respect the devolved powers of other regions in the United Kingdom) abandoned its own principles and allowed a vote for its members on these amendments.

Having passed through the Committee stage with the abortion amendment accepted, the Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords in the coming days with the second reading this afternoon (10/07) and concluding with the Report stage on Wednesday (17/07).

Even if the Bill proceeds through all stages with the abortion amendment intact, the Bill contains a clause which means that should the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont return by 21 October 2019, the amendment will not have any effect and any changes to abortion law in Northern Ireland, England and Wales will not go ahead.

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Help fight major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.

Dear reader,

Despite the Leadbeater assisted-suicide Bill passing its Third Reading on 20 June, it scraped through by just 23 votes (314-291) after enjoying a 55-vote majority at Second Reading. Had 12 more MPs switched sides, the Bill would be dead. It now limps into the Lords with a wafer-thin majority, where peers can amend, delay or reject it outright.

THE CHALLENGE

Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide and will fight hard to stop the Lords overturning the Bill.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion-up-to-birth amendment, passed by MPs in June, also heads to the Lords. If it becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – and at any point up to and during birth.

We will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes), who are expected to push for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws in the Lords.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Thousands of vulnerable lives are now at stake. Battling these two threats is the biggest and most expensive effort in our history, and has drained our limited resources. To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £200,000 by midnight this Sunday (13 July 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from these major threats?

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.