Anglican Achbp on Abortion

[HagiaSophia]

From Channel 4 - UK:

Rowan Williams’ view is backed up by a survey commissioned by a Sunday newspaper, which found that 60 per cent of people believe the legal time limit for abortions should be reduced.

The archbishop said the General Election campaign could provide an opportunity for voters to question individual parliamentary candidates over their views.

He did not say that he was opposed outright to abortion, but said that for a large majority of Christians - including himself - it was impossible to regard abortion as “anything other than a deliberate termination of a human life”.

He said: "The advance of technology has … reinforced anxieties.

“Whether it is a matter of evidence about foetal sensitivity to outside stimuli (including pain), the nature of foetal consciousness, or the expanding possibilities of saving early foetal life outside the womb, the trend is inexorably towards a sharper recognition of the foetus as a natural candidate for ‘rights’ of some kind.”

He added: “In light of this, it is a lot harder to reduce the issue to an individual’s right to choose.”

A week ago Tory leader Michael Howard said that he would be prepared for the time limit on abortions to be cut from the current 24 weeks down to 20.

But he stressed that was his personal view and all three main political parties regard abortion as a matter of personal conscience for MPs and not one of party policy.

The archbishop warned, though, that this must not become an “alibi” for avoiding the issue.

channel4.com/news/news_story.jsp?storyId=392692

 

[Exporter]

“A week ago Tory leader Michael Howard said that he would be prepared for the time limit on abortions to be cut from the current 24 weeks down to 20.”

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Well,Well. What’s next? It could be he will say anyone over 65 can be killed. This just to take the other end of the spectrum.

Tory leader Michael Howard believes in ABORTION.

 

[HagiaSophia]

Well,Well. What’s next? It could be he will say anyone over 65 can be killed. This just to take the other end of the spectrum.

Tory leader Michael Howard believes in ABORTION.

I do not know whether he does or does not but what I do know is that he is the first member of his party to acknowledge that changes need to be made and the issue of abortion is not de facto carved into stone and can be addrssed in the public forum as the Catholic primate pointed out earlier this week.

Anti abortion groups have never, up to this step, even been able to be treated as anything but some "fringe group’; this move by Howard indicates that recognition is coming that the groups have a voice now and a place in the public debate on the question.

Any step is a good step - all long journeys start with the first step… It is not just a “coincidence” that in the UK during the past 2 weeks, we have the Catholic Primate of England, the Anglican Primate and the Tory spokesperson all addressing the subject. To capture hearts and minds on the issue takes time, coordinated effort and it has to start somewhere.

I wish it were more, but I am grateful that it has at last begun.

 

[Matt_Black]

This is a question about the extent to which abortion is becoming - or should become - a party political issue as it seems to have become in the US. The trend in the last week here is as follows:-

1. Michael Howard, Conservative leader, says he’s in favour of a review of the 24-week limit.
2. ++Cormac then effectively advises Catholics in England and Wales to ‘Vote Conservative’
3. Yesterday, ++Rowan waded calling for a review, but without the blatant party political overtones of ++Cormac.
4. There seems to be a growing consensus in the churches that at the very least, candidates at the hustings etc are quizzed on their stance on this issue

So, are we going to go down the US road now of there being a more or less pro-life party? For myself, I would hope not; I prefer the idea that abortion be an issue of personal conscience for MPs - so I have less of a problem with #4 above, I guess - and determined by a free vote. I’m not sure that Howard is necessarily reneging on that last point (a free vote); all he is promising is that a Conservative government would give the necessary Parliamentary time to a bill on the issue, but with a free vote still being taken ultimately

Although Howard isn’t proposing a ban, the promise of a review of the time limit is the most pro-life pronouncement to come from the three main party leaders. I’m also concerned about ++Cormac’s pronouncement/ advice/ direction. It seems very similar to his American counterpart’s direction to Catholics not to vote for Kerry last year - which arguably got Dubya back into the White House

I’m concerned also about it becoming a party issue - I really don’t want what happened to the Republican Party in the US in the 1980s and 1990s to happen to the Conservatives in the 2000s and 2010s.

Yours in Christ

Matt