THE
P RTAL
November 2017
Page 3
Joint Statement
on Abortion
A Joint statement from the Bishops of England, Wales and
Scotland for the 50th Anniversary of the Abortion Act
Issued on Monday 23 rd October 2017
T his statement,
published by the Catholic Bishops of England, Wales and Scotland, on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 UK Abortion Act, is addressed not only to Catholics of
our countries, but more broadly to all people who seek to uphold the dignity of human life and protect the
unborn child.
Over the last fifty years, the bishops of
our countries, along with many other
people, have spoken consistently in
favour of the intrinsic value of human
life and both the good of the child
in the womb and the good of the
mother. This anniversary provides
an opportunity to lament the loss of
life due to abortion and seek a change
of minds and hearts about the good of
the child in the womb and the care of
mothers who are pregnant.
Fifty years ago, few envisaged the
possibility of that there would be almost
200,000 abortions in Great Britain in
2015. Every abortion is a tragedy and few
consider that abortion is the desirable or
best solution to a pregnancy, which may be
challenging on account of many different
factors.
The complex set of conditions in which
a woman finds herself pregnant and may
consider having an abortion may limit the
exercise of freedom and diminish moral
culpability. When abortion is the choice
made by a woman, the unfailing mercy
of God and the promise of forgiveness
through the Sacrament of Reconciliation
are always available. There is always a way home to
a deeper relationship with God and the Church, as
recent Popes have emphasised, which can heal and
bring peace.
Today the language of ‘choice’ dominates discourse
about marriage, gender, family and abortion. This
needs further exploration. Choice has come to mean
doing whatever I feel to be right for me - a very
subjective view of the good - rather than taking into
account a wider set of fundamental
values. This is a very inadequate
understanding of free choice, which
requires an education in important
truths about what is truly good and
the possibility of other options. In
this case, these must include the
good of the unborn child, care and
support for pregnant mothers, and
the responsibility of the father.
This statement presents a number of
different challenges for the future: a new
understanding of the intrinsic value and
worth of every human life in the womb,
a better protection of unborn children
diagnosed with a disability, a great need
for education in moral responsibility
about human sexuality and the meaning
of sexual expression within marriage.
Many professionals face the challenge
that respect for conscientious objection
against abortion has been eroded. Personal
conscience is inviolable and nobody should
be forced to act against his or her properly
informed conscience on these matters. We
encourage greater debate about this right
and these challenges in our society.
Finally we thank many people, of religious faith and
none, who have sought to protect unborn life and the
life of the mother over the last fifty years; mothers
who have continued their pregnancies in difficult
circumstances, politicians who have sought to reform
the legislation to better protect unborn life, those
people whose prayers have been offered for greater
respect to be shown to the wonder of the life in the
womb, for mothers and those whose lives are cut short
by abortion. Together let us better cherish life.