Anglican Mainstream

Continued from Andrea Minichiello Williams

There were, however, encouraging signs of God at work:

The All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group press statement quotes Ann Widdecombe’s encouraging words: “Clearly there is all to play for, with the large number of MPs abstaining indicating that many have still to make up their minds. We ensured the pro-life amendments—on the upper time limit for the gestation period for abortions—went down first, and if usual procedures are followed, they should be debated first. It was also encouraging how many Labour MPs spoke against the Bill—whereas once it would have been particularly difficult to get, for example, women Labour MPs to do so.” 

The group also reports that there was clarity in the laying of the amendments, despite the physical scrum to get amendments amendments on abortion were laid in the following order: 12 weeks, 14 weeks, 16 weeks, 18 weeks, 20 weeks. 

A letter to the Telegraph from over 50 scientists highlights the loophole in the Bill, which together with the planned repeal of the Cloning Act 2001, would allow cloned babies to be born. The letter calls for the ban in the 2001 Act to be kept . http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/05/13/nosplit/dt1301.xml#head8 (scroll down to ‘Embryo Bill Dangers’).

The Daily Mail today reports the growing unease amongst rebel Labour MPs at not being allowed free vote either at Second Reading or at Third Reading and the double standards that seem to be creeping in:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=566055&in_page_id70.

Please pray for the MPs who have laid amendments on abortion and also for Iain Duncan Smith, who was able to lay our amendment on fatherhood; Edward Leigh and David Burrowes who tabled amendments prohibiting animal-human hybrids and saviour siblings respectively, and Claire Curtis Thomas, who tabled amendments on informed consent for women contemplating abortion (which could be the most influential in the long-term future of abortion in this country) and banning abortion up to birth for disabled babies.

Whilst most of the news coverage was supportive of the Bill and tended to feature the pro-embryo research rally, the following clips were more balanced and Sky News screened their interview with Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship:

Sky News 5.30 pm report:

http://www.ccfon.org/mediacentre.php?avid=74&avap=1

BBC News 24, 4.30 pm report:

http://www.ccfon.org/mediacentre.php?avid=75&avap=1.

The next stage

Mass Lobby of Parliament

Rally Tuesday 20^th May 5.30 pm to 7 pm

Join us for a rally outside Parliament on the day that the abortion amendments are to be voted on. Invite members of your church, Christian groups, family and friends. We will gather at 5.30 pm on Tuesday 20^th May in Old Palace Yard, opposite St Stephen’s Entrance to the House of Lords, Westminster. 

There will be a demonstration from the pro-abortion supporters of the current upper time limit, so it would be good to have as many people present as possible.

Please do not forget to pray for MPs the day before, on Monday 19^th May, when the other prohibitions will be the subject of voting.

Alive and Kicking Campaign

Alive and Kicking has sent all MPs a letter, letting them know that any votes on abortion will be monitored by Alive and Kicking and published for the public to access. This information will have an impact on public voting at the next general election—especially for those MPs with marginal seats.

You can check your MP’s majority on the Alive and Kicking MPs’ database on their website. Simply click on the MPs’ database, enter your postcode, or select your MP—their majority is listed under ‘Details of MP’. The number of their majority may well be lower than the number of Christians in your constituency. Getting in contact with other churches in your area and lobbying your MP together is a very effective way of putting pressure on your MP.

Please also continue to send your petitions to Alive and Kicking; these will be presented to 10 Downing Street in the coming weeks.

Links

• Alive and Kicking Press Release on MPs’ votes on Abortion:

  http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/press_releases/?id=20

  MPs’ Database:

   

  http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/mp/searchmp.php

   

  Sign the Petition:

   

  http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/petition/

   

   

  Download the Petition:

  http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/public/pdf/petition.pdf.

   

  20 Weeks Campaign to Lower the Abortion Limit headed by Nadine Dorries MP

On Tuesday, 6^th May, Nadine Dorries MP launched the official parliamentary campaign to reduce the upper limit for abortion. Nadine’s official website for her campaign is:

www.the20weekscampaign.org.

Nadine highlights some of the 20 reasons for the limit to be reduced to 20 weeks:

Public, parliamentary and medical opinion is changing on late abortion. 63 per cent of MPs, two thirds of GPs, nearly two thirds of the public and more than three-quarters of women support a reduction in the 24-week upper age limit.

High profile cases of babies surviving well below 24 weeks like Manchester’s Millie McDonagh, born at 22 weeks, and the world’s most premature baby, Amillia Taylor, who was born a week younger, both in October 2006.

High resolution 3D ultrasound images, pioneered by Professor Stuart Campbell, have shown babies in amazing detail ‘walking’, yawning, stretching and sucking their thumbs in the womb.

A video on our CCFONtv website shows the launch event, outside Parliament on 6^th May:

http://www.ccfon.org/mediacentre.php?avid=73&avap=1.

The aim of the 20 weeks campaign is to reduce the upper time limit on abortion from 24 weeks to 20 weeks. We are supporting all the campaigns aimed at reduction in the upper time limits for abortion. Amendments have also been laid to reduce the limit to 18, 16, 14 and 12 weeks. We need to ask MPs to support every amendment that will reduce the upper time limits.

Register your support for Nadine’s campaign:

http://www.the20weekscampaign.org/register/

Send an e-postcard to your MP:

http://www.the20weekscampaign.org/epostcard/

Order postcards for your friends, neighbours and church to send to their MPs:

http://www.the20weekscampaign.org/order/.

Andrea Minichiello Williams

Public Policy Director

0207 407 6157

Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship/Christian Concern for our Nation

http://www.ccfon.org

http://www.lawcf.org

If you need to contact Andrea please contact her on andrea@ccfon.org or 0207 407 6157

Website: http://www.ccfon.org

Please consider financially supporting the work we do by making a donation: http://www.ccfon.org/view.php?id=145

LCF Registered charity number 1017695

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