Bishops rarely comment on Bills in Parliament. Lay Christians, informed by their faith, freely and sincerely adopt different political views and propose different solutions to the practical problems and great challenges of our time.
Yet, when the bishops voice "deep alarm" about a legislative measure in Parliament it is a moment when the faithful, and indeed everyone of good will, are alerted to something vital for the well-being of society. <br><br>Such a moment comes on Wednesday (15 May) when <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/mps-to-vote-on-abortion-amendments-on-may-15-parliament-told/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">two amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill </mark></a>threaten to remove remaining legal protections from the unborn child at any stage of pregnancy. Pro-life groups are certainly not exaggerating when they describe such proposals as the greatest threat to the unborn child and their mothers since the Abortion Act of 1967. <br><br>At such a moment the Church and her bishops cannot fail to speak, recognising the threat to human life and dignity. This led Bishop John Sherrington in his national role to <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/bishop-john-sherrington-alarmed-by-proposed-amendments-on-abortion/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">raise the alarm</mark></a> about this impending parliamentary debate on 15 May insisting “both unborn child and pregnant mother deserve full protection under our laws as some of the most vulnerable in society".
It is rare moment for bishops to encourage people to urgently contact their Members of Parliament. Yet in the next few days we are being asked to make our views known to those who represent us regarding these two, fearful amendments proposed by Dame Diana Johnson MP and Stella Creasy MP which further threaten the lives of the unborn and the foundations of the sanctity of human life on which our society has been built. <br><br>Happily, there are two alternative amendments to this same Criminal Justice Bill that we can encourage parliamentarians to support, one by Sir Liam Fox MP to end abortion up to birth for babies with Down’s Syndrome and one by Caroline Ansell MP to lower the time limit of abortion from 24 to 22 weeks. These are measures to strengthen already severely weakened foundations.
Fatigue can sometimes endanger the pro-life cause, as we see one proposal after another introduced over this past half century to undermine laws founded on our <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/englands-christian-inheritance-at-stake-in-uk-general-election/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Christian inheritance</mark></a>; together with a general dulling of consciences that obscures in public debate whether the life and humanity of the unborn child has any value even to the point of attempting to silence those who publicly speak for life. <br><br>It is surely not without significance that those advancing a “culture of death” in our country have recently chosen to take initiatives at moments in the year marked by the great Christian festivals which hold a cherished place in our national life. It was shortly before Christmas that we saw the euthanasia lobby <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide-contradict-christmas-bishop-davies-warns-faithful/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">make renewed efforts</mark></a> to seek the removal of legal protections for the sick and the aged. <br><br>This coinciding of the renewed campaign for assisted suicide with the celebration of Christ’s advent and birth brings to mind Pope Saint John Paul II’s words in his 1995 Letter “The Gospel of Life”, where he reflected on the Nativity that “[i]n a way that child is the figure of every person, every child, especially every helpless baby whose life is threatened" because “[b]y his Incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every person". Similarly, this latest assault on the lives of the unborn comes at the end of Eastertide when we celebrate the victory of life over death.
Whether or not the proponents of euthanasia and unlimited abortion are aware of the significance of the Christian calendar, we cannot fail to recognise, as Pope John Paul II himself reminded us, that the rejection of human life is the rejection of Christ.
These great celebrations of our Christian Year must encourage us never to grow wearied in the struggle to proclaim the sanctity of human life from its beginning to its natural end. Christmas and Easter proclaim this everlasting truth which is always “news of great joy” for all people. The great public holidays and celebrations continue to recall this faith and moral vision on which our society was built, and our laws securely founded.
In being invited by the bishops to raise our voices and directly contacting our Members of Parliament in the days before Pentecost, we are not merely being invited to oppose a dangerous parliamentary measure that further threatens human life and dignity, rather we have an opportunity to give witness for the need to respect, protect, love and serve every human life in the light of the Gospel.
This has become our tireless task in the early 21st Century to so give witness to the precious value of every human life in the light of Him who was conceived, born, died and rose again for us. <br><br><em>Photo: The South Bank Lion, with the Palace of Westminster – commonly called the Houses of Parliament – in the background, at the southern end of Westminster Bridge, London, England, 28 October 1966. (Photo by Frank Brooks/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)</em>
<em>CH Ed: Further details on the amendment to decriminalise abortion and on the 'No To Abortion Up To Birth' campaign opposing it run by Right to Life UK are available here: <a href="https://t.co/GHlUZlwmMA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">https://righttolife.org.uk/uptobirth</mark></a>.</em>
