Select Page

Press release – Abortion lobby shows its true colours, opposing Maria Miller’s Ten Minute Rule Bill

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press release – Abortion lobby shows its true colours, opposing Maria Miller’s Ten Minute Rule Bill 

19 July 2023 – Right To Life UK has called out the abortion lobby for “showing its true colours” after a Ten Minute Rule Bill, introduced by Maria Miller MP, was opposed by abortion campaigner Stella Creasy MP.

Earlier today, pro-abortion MP, Maria Miller, introduced her Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (Sentencing Guidelines) Bill to Parliament, positioning it in her speech as a proposal that would prevent jail sentences for women, like Carla Foster, who procure their own late-term abortions. 

Maria Miller stated that Sir Peter Bottomley, Harriet Harman, Caroline Nokes, Sarah Champion, Wera Hobhouse, Tracey Crouch, Caroline Dinenage, Matt Warman, Christine Jardine, Nickie Aiken and Theo Clarke had also put their name to the Bill.   

In a surprise development, Stella Creasy MP, who generally leads pro-abortion campaigning in Parliament, rose to give a speech opposing the Bill.

Stella Creasy made it clear that she and the abortion lobby were opposing the Bill. In her speech, she stated that it would not deliver on the abortion lobby’s larger goal, which is to make the Abortion Act redundant by repealing underlying criminal legislation, stating “looking at sentencing directly contradicts the call for decriminalisation”. 

The full decriminalisation of abortion would introduce abortion for any reason up to birth in England and Wales.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said:

“Stella Creasy opposing this Bill highlights that she and her fellow campaigners want far more than just preventing jail sentences for women, like Carla Foster, who procure their own late-term abortion”.

“Maria Miller said today that her Bill would deliver this outcome, but Stella Creasy actively opposed it because it wouldn’t deliver on the abortion lobby’s larger goal of making the Abortion Act redundant by repealing underlying criminal legislation, which would allow abortion for any reason up to birth”.

“The abortion lobby say that they care about compassion for women, but by directly opposing a Bill that could remove jail sentences rather than seeking to further liberalise abortion law, they have shown their true colours. Today the abortion lobby have revealed what their real goal is – the introduction of abortion on demand, for any reason, up to birth”.

“In England and Wales, this would involve repealing sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act along with the Infant Life Preservation Act“. 

“As the Abortion Act 1967 was passed to create exemptions to 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act along with the Infant Life Preservation Act, repealing this legislation would make the Abortion Act 1967 redundant in England and Wales”. 

“This change in law would scrap the current 24-week time limit for abortion, and abortion would be available on demand, for any reason, up to birth. The upper time limit would be completely abolished”.

“Abortion provider BPAS, which has been campaigning for this law change, has made it explicit that it is campaigning to remove all gestational time limits for abortion”.

“This position was affirmed by its then CEO, Ann Furedi, who at the launch of the campaign to ‘decriminalise’ abortion stated, “I want to be very, very clear and blunt … there should be no legal upper limit”.

“This proposal is completely out of line with where women stand on the issue. Polling from Savanta ComRes on whether time limits for abortion should be increased showed that only 1% of women in Great Britain wanted the time limit to be extended to more than 24 weeks and 1% wanted it to be increased right through to birth, in contrast to 70% of women who favoured a reduction in time limits.”

ENDS