Precious Life has condemned the UK Government and NI Secretary of State for preparing regulations to take power and force "fully commissioned abortion" in Northern Ireland after the Assembly Election in May.
On Thursday (24 March) the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, set out the legislative options being planned by the UK Government for the full commissioning of abortion here. Full commissioning will allow abortion on demand, for any reason, right up to the moment of birth. The latest Westminster plans will also remove the need for NI Executive approval for abortion to be fully commissioned.
BACKGROUND: The laws in Northern Ireland that protected mothers and unborn babies were dismantled in 2019 while the Assembly was suspended, and Westminster forced abortion on Northern Ireland through Section 9 of the 'NI Executive Formation Act'. But since the Stormont Assembly has been up and running again since January 2020, the full commissioning of abortion has been stalled due to disagreement within the five-party Executive of the Assembly. In March 2021, Brandon Lewis took unprecedented powers allowing him to force Stormont to fully commission abortion. Then in July 2021, he directed the Assembly to fully commission the killing of unborn babies no later than 31st March this year (2022). In December 2021, a bill before the NI Assembly that would have at least protected babies with disabilities such as Down's Syndrome, Cleft Lip, or Club Foot, was rejected by MLAs from Sinn Fein, SDLP, UUP, Alliance, Green Party and PBP [see Pro-abortion Assembly Members vote for the murder of babies with disabilities in Northern Ireland ]
Since abortion was forced on Northern Ireland, over 2394 babies have now been killed. But Brandon Lewis says he is "extremely disappointed" that more babies haven’t been killed. He even has the audacity to claim he has "a moral obligation” to ensure more unborn babies are killed here.
Lewis says he firmly believes that the killing of unborn babies must be of "high-quality", and that it is "unacceptable" that killing unborn babies in Northern Ireland is not available as it is across the rest of the UK. He added, “I am determined to do everything I can…” to ensure more unborn babies are killed in Northern Ireland.
The Secretary of State also announced that he is immediately setting up a team with experience in the killing of unborn babies, to work directly with the NI Department of Health to ensure more abortions are committed.
He will take power to override the NI Assembly and intervene directly following the election in May.
Director of Precious Life Bernadette Smyth said, "There are pro-abortion candidates standing in the coming Assembly Election who support Brandon Lewis interfering and taking power over the Assembly. These candidates – from Sinn Fein, SDLP, UUP, Alliance, Green Party and PBP - are not fit to hold political office. We urge the people of Northern Ireland to vote only for pro-life candidates on 5th May, and ensure the Assembly is returned with MLAs who will stand up against Brandon Lewis and Westminster, and restore full legal protection for our unborn babies."