THE
P RTAL
December 2017
Page 21
The Life Charity
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane meet
the Revd Deacon Stephen Sharpe and Anne Scanlon
W
e met in the cafe at the Institute of Directors in central London. All went well, apart from the fire
alarm sending us all scurrying out of the building half way through our interview, but there was no
fire. It was a false alarm or a drill; not quite sure which.
We had looked the Life Charity up
on Google. It is very impressive and
really practical. Is that the original idea,
providing practical help as opposed to
standing on the side-lines and shouting,
we wondered?
Stephen said, “We have been around
for about almost 50 years and the USP
of the organisation is that we feel it’s not
appropriate to oppose abortion without
providing real practical alternatives, so
that’s what we do. We are opposing abortion and all the
issues around that; we provide a practical alternative,
whether that’s housing, financial support or practical
support. If we are going to oppose IVF we need to
provide alternatives to IVF, which we do through Life
FertilityCare. So that’s the USP of the organisation.
“Jack Scarisbrick, who established Life all those years
ago, basically set up a group of charities and it was
motivated by the d esire to oppose abortion, under any
circumstances, which we do. If we are going to say to
women and their families who have babies born with
disabilities or life limiting conditions that there is a
better way than abortion, we have to ensure that there
is a better way and that we can provide that support. So
that saw the launch of “Zoe’s Place”, which specifically
works with babies and was one of the first dedicated
baby hospices in the UK.
off and Google ‘fatal foetal abnormality’
an inaccurate term used to describe the
diagnosis of a life limiting condition and
then have to face the pressure and the
presumption by the medical profession,
and sometimes society as well, that you’re
going to have an abortion.
“Sometimes the pressure amounts to
coercion. What we are trying to do, and
this is the key to our counselling, is to
create a quiet, calm space for women,
partners and families to reflect what’s happened in these
circumstances, including unplanned pregnancy. They
should have time to reflect what is right and wrong.
So that’s what we do; that is at the heart of what we
do - creating that space for women and their partners
and family to reflect on unplanned pregnancies and
the possibility of a baby with a life limiting condition.
“There is schizophrenia in society on so many
issues. The proponents of the Parliamentary bill which
covers this matter want to end the lives of people who
are not perfect. It’s the same as Downs Syndrome. I
don’t particularly like to use this language; but it is as
though we are hunting people with Downs Syndrome.
What happens when we can diagnose autism or
schizophrenia? Will those people be hunted and
removed because they are not considered ‘normal’
in society? That’s one of our biggest challenges and I
think we come back to this overwhelming secularism
“They are a separate charity to us; our sister charity. in the consumer culture.
We are particularly driven by the agenda in Northern
Ireland and are bringing forward our own baby unit,
“We have lost sight of the dignity of each human
one that intervenes even earlier than “Zoe’s Place”, person, which we get by being made in the image of
whereas the agenda in Northern Ireland is being GOD. That’s the root problem. Anne and I have been
driven by life limiting conditions.
having a discussion this morning about what is the
most important aspect of our advocacy work. We
“We are looking to establish the first such project debate it regularly and the answer is it’s probably our
over there so we can support both men and women. work in schools. We are highlighting the importance
One of the tragic things in society is the lack of of life; we are highlighting the importance of life from
support for women in these circumstances. Suppose conception.
you are a couple in Northern Ireland and are expecting
a baby. All is going well, and then you are given the
“Most say from conception to death, but we don’t
tragic news that not all is well with your baby. You go need to do that. Just ‘from conception’ - end of. It’s all