In November, PCI Moderator Rev Dr William Henry wrote to every presbytery and congregation in Northern Ireland to encourage them to consider responding to the Northern Ireland Office consultation on the introduction of a “new legal framework of abortion services in Northern Ireland”.
Dr Henry said, “While we would not choose to be in this position, it is important that we continue to make our voice heard to ensure that any changes to abortion legislation in Northern Ireland provide protections for unborn children as well as women and their families, and that any such provision is safe, legal, and most importantly, rare.”
The consultation has now closed and the PCI response is available to read and download here.
10 key points from the PCI submission to the abortion consultation:
1. Consideration of abortion, and matters relating to it, are of ethical, legal and pastoral concern. Many of our ministers and others in congregations have journeyed with women and their families who have experienced a pregnancy crisis.
2. The current position of PCI is that “human life begins at conception and therefore believes that from that moment the human embryo should be treated in a manner in accordance with full human dignity”. PCI is therefore opposed to the new legal framework for abortion services as proposed by this consultation.
3. Unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 or 14 weeks goes far beyond what is required legally and may have the unintended consequence of providing the conditions where a woman might be coerced to seek an abortion, or allow domestic abuse to go undetected.
4. Proposals to provide what is in effect unrestricted access to abortion up to 22 or 24 weeks exceed the legislative requirement, and create a significant differential to provision in the Republic of Ireland, and most other European countries.
5. In 2017 the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended that ‘women’s rights… should be respected without legalising selective abortion on the ground of fetal deficiency’. It is the view of PCI that the proposals regarding a diagnosis of severe impairment run contrary to this recommendation, and allow for a subjective judgement to be made on the quality of life of a baby born with an abnormality. This also perpetuates stereotypes towards persons with disabilities.
6. A process of certification by two doctors, should be put in place to provide safety for women and protection for medical professionals, which is the standard in the rest of the British Isles.
7. Anticipated high levels of conscientious objection on behalf of medical, or health professionals, should not be used as a reason to reduce safety for women. It is for the Northern Ireland Office and the Department of Health to produce a model of service delivery, which protects the right of those tasked with the delivery of this framework to conscientiously object, whilst ensuring patient safety.
8. PCI is concerned that no separate consideration has been given to the particular needs of girls under the age of 18 and deemed to still be children in the eyes of other state providers, or of women and girls who lack capacity for decision-making.
9. A duty should be placed on the Department of Health to ensure that non-directive counselling is available both pre- and post-abortion.
10. Against the backdrop of the current, and increasing, extreme pressures on the NHS, the Church is concerned that this new legal framework for abortion services in Northern Ireland has the potential to place additional strain on a system that is at breaking point. We are hugely concerned that the system will not be ready to implement these changes as required by 31 March 2020.
The following information and resources are still available:
• NIO consultation on a new legal framework for abortion services in Northern Ireland
• PCI Consultation guidance [pdf]
• 2016 Report to General Assembly on Abortion [pdf]
• PCI statements [as detailed below]
A number of statements have been made on the matters leading up to the consultation and these are: