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Bishops silent on Northern Ireland law forcing Catholic schools to refer for abortions
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<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishops-silent-on-northern-ireland-law-forcing-catholic-schools-to-refer-for-abortions">https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishops-silent-on-northern-ireland-law-forcing-catholic-schools-to-refer-for-abortions</a><p class="gmail-article-tags gmail-hide-print"><span></span><span></span><a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/tags/tag/northern+ireland"><br></a></p>
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<p>December 13, 2019 (<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com">LifeSiteNews</a>)
– Pro-life activists in Northern Ireland have said that the statements
made thus far by the Catholic bishops there fail to adequately address
the<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> radical new abortion laws </b></span><a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/abortion-same-sex-marriage-coming-to-northern-ireland-at-midnight-as-assembly-fails-to-block"><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>recently imposed </b></span>on the region</a>.</p>
<p>Notably, <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>the new abortion regime will force <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Catholic</span> schools to refer
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> girls</span> for abortions without telling<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> their parents</span></b></span>. Pro-lifers are
concerned about the bishops’ lack of acknowledgement of this reality.</p>
<p>The Catholic bishops recently commented on Northern Ireland’s new abortion laws in <a href="https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2019/12/05/message-from-the-bishops-in-northern-ireland-to-voters-ahead-of-the-westminster-general-election/">guidance to Catholics concerning the U.K.’s general election</a>, which took place this week. </p>
<p>The guidance notes that the passing of the abortion law was “tragic”
and states that the new laws are unjust and should be resisted. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>The
bishops say:</b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>
</b></span><blockquote><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>
</b></span><p><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">Any human law that removes</span> the right to life is <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">an unjust law </span>and
must be <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">resisted</span> by every person, every voter, every political
representative. For Catholic politicians this is not only a matter of
protecting the human right to life but also <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">a fundamental matter of
Catholic faith.</span></b></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>The bishops urged people <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><i>to</i></span></b><i> </i><b><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">“pray for a society which respects the
equal right to life and care of a mother and her unborn child” and also
asked that voters “inform themselves about the position of candidates
standing for election in respect of their willingness to support and
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">cherish equally the lives of mothers and their unborn children.''</span></span></b></span></p>
<p><u><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>But</b></span> pro-life campaigners are concerned that<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> there has been no
</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>statement</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> </span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">by <span style="background-color:rgb(230,145,56)">the bishops </span>regarding the fact that the legislation will
require </span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">schools,<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> including</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> Catholic </span>schools</span>, <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">to direct <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">pregnant</span></span> students
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">for abortion.</span></b></span></u></p>
<p><a href="https://undocs.org/CEDAW/C/OP.8/GBR/1">A 2018 report</a>
made by the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended with regard to
abortion in the U.K. and Northern Ireland that the government introduce
mandatory sex education which included. Section 86 (d) of that report
reads: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Committee recommends that the State party:</p>
<p>(d) Make age-appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically accurate
education on sexual and reproductive health and rights a compulsory
component of curriculum for adolescents, covering prevention of early
pregnancy and access to abortion, and monitor its implementation</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/22/enacted">“Northern Ireland Executive Formation etc Act 2019,”</a>
which has brought about the change in Northern Ireland’s abortion laws,
requires that the recommendations made in the 2018 CEDAW report be
implemented. Section 9 of the Act states: “The Secretary of State must
ensure that the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW
report are implemented in respect of Northern Ireland.”</p>
<p>Liam Gibson, Northern Ireland political officer for the <a href="https://spuc.org.uk">Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)</a>,
told LifeSiteNews that the Catholics bishops have “yet to acknowledge
that under the new regime, schools, including Catholic schools will be
required by law to direct girls for abortion without even informing
parents.”</p>
<p>He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The bishops have yet to acknowledge that under the new regime,
schools, including Catholic schools will be required by law to direct
girls for abortion without even informing parents. The potential for an
abuser to procure an abortion for his victim and continue the abuse is
wide open. If this happens it would be a complete betrayal of parents
who place their trust in these schools to teach in accordance with the
Catholic faith and to keep their children safe.</p>
<p>There is also the very real threat that so-called flexibility in the
new regime will open the way to schools being designated as places
suitable for performing abortions. If the bishops don’t act now to stop
this Catholic schools will be providing girls with secret abortions and
the Church will be culpable for the deaths that take place in their
schools. </p>
<p>All this will happen unless Catholic parents demand that the bishop
stand up to the government and refuse to allow their schools to become
the killing grounds of countless unborn children. Even if the government
threatens to withdraw state funding, the issue of abortions in Catholic
schools is not negotiable. Abortion is an act of lethal violence
directed at an innocent child and there is no acceptable level of
violence against children.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>LifeSiteNews contacted Archbishop Eamonn Martin, the senior Catholic
cleric in Northern Ireland, but did not receive a response by press
time.</p>
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