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27 / 02 / 2013 - Precious Life say MARIE STOPES are on their way OUT !
See BACKGROUND TO TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT...
An amendment coming before the Northern Ireland Assembly aims to stop private abortion ‘clinics’ from operating in Northern Ireland.
Lagan Valley DUP Assembly Member Paul Givan and North Belfast SDLP Assembly Member Alban Maginness have jointly tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill.
We hope and pray that the amendment will strengthen the laws protecting our unborn babies.
This tabling of the amendment will send out a clear message to Marie Stopes and other private abortionists that they are not welcome in Northern Ireland where unborn children are protected. Abortion is a serious criminal offence under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and 1945 Criminal Justice Act.
In October Precious Life launched the STOP MARIE STOPES CAMPAIGN when the illegal abortion centre was opened. Since then, people from all traditions in Northern Ireland have maintained a vigil outside the centre each day it is open.
We have been running a Postcard Campaign for the public to sign petitions calling on our Assembly Members to do everything within their power to ensure Marie Stopes is prevented from committing criminal offences of abortion in Northern Ireland. We’ve had a tremendous response from people from all across Northern Ireland. Now our politicians have heeded their views and will use the democratic process to ‘Stop Marie Stopes’.
In January, following an approach by Precious Life's legal team,
Marie Stopes were brought before the Assembly Justice Committee but failed to convince the Committee how they could legally operate an abortion business in a country where abortion is illegal and a serious criminal offence.
Announcing the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, Mr Paul Givan stated, “We are responding to the challenge that was presented when the Marie Stopes clinic opened in Northern Ireland that revealed a loophole that private clinics are wholly unregulated – there is no form of accountability, no transparency”.
According to the MLAs, "grave concerns surfaced regarding the ability of private clinics to carry out abortive procedures without any form of transparency, oversight or accountability to the public.”
Mr Maginness and Mr Givan added, "Furthermore, it is dangerous that any organisation should receive financial reward from carrying out abortions - especially where there are such distinct legal parameters governing the matter.
A financial reward for carrying out an abortion is incompatible with the spirit of our legal framework, which governs abortions."
The amendment ensures that the welfare of both mother and child will be the primary concern rather than profit margins.
Mr Alban Maginnis said, “We have taken this opportune moment to remedy the gap in the law. It is right and proper to bring attention to the issue and deal with it.”
Precious Life commend our politicians who have heeded the views of vast majority of people in Northern Ireland and brought forward this amendment with the aim of strengthening our laws protecting unborn babies. A society can be judged by how it treats its weakest members and the most vulnerable are unborn children. Northern Ireland as a society will ‘close the door’ on Marie Stopes!
Bernadette Smyth
DIRECTOR
BACKGROUND TO TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT
Marie Stopes International is one of the largest baby-killing organisations in the world. In one year alone (2011), they killed 4.5 million unborn babies, earning them a global income of £166 million.
Most people in Northern Ireland were totally shocked when they heard in October the announcement that Marie Stopes International were opening the first abortion ‘clinic’ in Ireland, and it was to be in Belfast city centre — straight across the road from the main Bus and Train Station. They self-imposed their own interpretation of the law in Northern Ireland and boasted that they would be killing unborn babies up to nine weeks; claiming abortion was ‘legal up to nine weeks’, which the media willingly reported as fact!!!
In a statement, Dawn Purvis, Programme Director of Marie Stopes admitted that fellow pro‑abortionists, Audrey Simpson from the Family Planning Association NI (FPA and Bredagh Hughes of the Royal College of Midwives NI, had“..helped and guided their preparations.”
The pro-abortion media colluded with Marie Stopes and kept feeding the public the big lie that “..abortion is legal in Northern Ireland”.
Marie Stopes even had the audacity to claim they would “operate within the law”. But Precious Life could not let their lies go unchallenged. We knew we had to bypass the bias of the media. We produced a video exposing the lies of Marie Stopes, showing one of their directors caught on camera boasting and admitting that Marie Stopes break the law and perform illegal abortions all around the world. We posted the video on YouTube and Facebook. We also sent the video to all our Assembly Members.
As well as rallying political support, we assembled a team of top legal experts, led by Johanna Higgins BL, to discuss how Marie Stopes could be stopped. We agreed that it was too late for a court challenge so we decided the best course of action was to write a letter expressing our concerns to the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
We organised a massive Prayer Rally outside their ‘clinic’ on Thursday 18th October, the day that Marie Stopes opened. People from all over Ireland gathered in great numbers to pray and show their opposition to abortion.
Marie Stopes really thought that they had won a victory by opening - what they called - the first abortion ‘clinic’ in Ireland. But their plans took a turn for the worst that very morning. We received the good news that the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly had intervened in the situation due to the letter they received from Precious Life.
After considering our letter, the Committee agreed to question representatives of Marie Stopes to explain how they intended to comply with the criminal law in Northern Ireland
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland - the ‘Guardian of the Law’ - also stated very clearly, “Abortion in Northern Ireland is a criminal offence.” This statement was a vindication of Precious Life.
The week leading up to the opening of Marie Stopes, the Director of Precious Life, Bernadette Smyth, was harangued and bullied by pro‑abortion biased media interviewers every time she correctly stated the law - that abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland and a criminal offence.
The Attorney General set the record straight. Following his statement we sent a statement to all the media outlets calling on them to stop colluding with the pro-abortionist’s ‘big lie’ by deliberately stating the law wrongly by claiming ‘abortion is legal in certain circumstances. A criminal offence can NEVER be ‘legal’ under any circumstances.
The massive Rally in Belfast showed that the people of Northern Ireland want our unborn children protected. By opening their so-called ‘clinic’ Marie Stopes thought they had won the battle, but in reality they lost the war!
We then launched a massive lobby campaign to our Assembly Members - a Postcard Petition Campaign asking them to Stop Marie Stopes and ensure that their ‘clinic’ is closed and our unborn babies are protected.
Since the opening in October, we have maintained a PRAYER VIGIL outside Marie Stopes Centre on the days they are open - every Thursday and Saturday. At Christmas we also held candlelight vigil outside the 'abortion centre'.
Before Marie Stopes International were brought before the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly in January, Precious Life presented evidence to the Committee about the criminal activities that Marie Stopes International were planning in their Belfast Centre. We also presented evidence outlining Marie Stopes' illegal activities in other countries.
Paul Givan MLA and Alban Maginness MLA - both members of the Justice Committee - have now jointly tabled the amendment to outlaw private abortion 'clinics' operating in Northern Ireland. These Assembly Members are to be commended for acting to stop any criminal breaches of the law by Marie Stopes in Northern Ireland.
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An amendment coming before the Northern Ireland Assembly aims to stop private abortion ‘clinics’ from operating in Northern Ireland.
Lagan Valley DUP Assembly Member Paul Givan and North Belfast SDLP Assembly Member Alban Maginness have jointly tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill.
We hope and pray that the amendment will strengthen the laws protecting our unborn babies.
This tabling of the amendment will send out a clear message to Marie Stopes and other private abortionists that they are not welcome in Northern Ireland where unborn children are protected. Abortion is a serious criminal offence under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and 1945 Criminal Justice Act.
In October Precious Life launched the STOP MARIE STOPES CAMPAIGN when the illegal abortion centre was opened. Since then, people from all traditions in Northern Ireland have maintained a vigil outside the centre each day it is open.
We have been running a Postcard Campaign for the public to sign petitions calling on our Assembly Members to do everything within their power to ensure Marie Stopes is prevented from committing criminal offences of abortion in Northern Ireland. We’ve had a tremendous response from people from all across Northern Ireland. Now our politicians have heeded their views and will use the democratic process to ‘Stop Marie Stopes’.
In January, following an approach by Precious Life's legal team,
Marie Stopes were brought before the Assembly Justice Committee but failed to convince the Committee how they could legally operate an abortion business in a country where abortion is illegal and a serious criminal offence.
Announcing the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, Mr Paul Givan stated, “We are responding to the challenge that was presented when the Marie Stopes clinic opened in Northern Ireland that revealed a loophole that private clinics are wholly unregulated – there is no form of accountability, no transparency”.
According to the MLAs, "grave concerns surfaced regarding the ability of private clinics to carry out abortive procedures without any form of transparency, oversight or accountability to the public.”
Mr Maginness and Mr Givan added, "Furthermore, it is dangerous that any organisation should receive financial reward from carrying out abortions - especially where there are such distinct legal parameters governing the matter.
A financial reward for carrying out an abortion is incompatible with the spirit of our legal framework, which governs abortions."
The amendment ensures that the welfare of both mother and child will be the primary concern rather than profit margins.
Mr Alban Maginnis said, “We have taken this opportune moment to remedy the gap in the law. It is right and proper to bring attention to the issue and deal with it.”
Precious Life commend our politicians who have heeded the views of vast majority of people in Northern Ireland and brought forward this amendment with the aim of strengthening our laws protecting unborn babies. A society can be judged by how it treats its weakest members and the most vulnerable are unborn children. Northern Ireland as a society will ‘close the door’ on Marie Stopes!
Bernadette Smyth
DIRECTOR
BACKGROUND TO TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT
Marie Stopes International is one of the largest baby-killing organisations in the world. In one year alone (2011), they killed 4.5 million unborn babies, earning them a global income of £166 million.
Most people in Northern Ireland were totally shocked when they heard in October the announcement that Marie Stopes International were opening the first abortion ‘clinic’ in Ireland, and it was to be in Belfast city centre — straight across the road from the main Bus and Train Station. They self-imposed their own interpretation of the law in Northern Ireland and boasted that they would be killing unborn babies up to nine weeks; claiming abortion was ‘legal up to nine weeks’, which the media willingly reported as fact!!!
In a statement, Dawn Purvis, Programme Director of Marie Stopes admitted that fellow pro‑abortionists, Audrey Simpson from the Family Planning Association NI (FPA and Bredagh Hughes of the Royal College of Midwives NI, had“..helped and guided their preparations.”
The pro-abortion media colluded with Marie Stopes and kept feeding the public the big lie that “..abortion is legal in Northern Ireland”.
Marie Stopes even had the audacity to claim they would “operate within the law”. But Precious Life could not let their lies go unchallenged. We knew we had to bypass the bias of the media. We produced a video exposing the lies of Marie Stopes, showing one of their directors caught on camera boasting and admitting that Marie Stopes break the law and perform illegal abortions all around the world. We posted the video on YouTube and Facebook. We also sent the video to all our Assembly Members.
As well as rallying political support, we assembled a team of top legal experts, led by Johanna Higgins BL, to discuss how Marie Stopes could be stopped. We agreed that it was too late for a court challenge so we decided the best course of action was to write a letter expressing our concerns to the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
We organised a massive Prayer Rally outside their ‘clinic’ on Thursday 18th October, the day that Marie Stopes opened. People from all over Ireland gathered in great numbers to pray and show their opposition to abortion.
Marie Stopes really thought that they had won a victory by opening - what they called - the first abortion ‘clinic’ in Ireland. But their plans took a turn for the worst that very morning. We received the good news that the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly had intervened in the situation due to the letter they received from Precious Life.
After considering our letter, the Committee agreed to question representatives of Marie Stopes to explain how they intended to comply with the criminal law in Northern Ireland
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland - the ‘Guardian of the Law’ - also stated very clearly, “Abortion in Northern Ireland is a criminal offence.” This statement was a vindication of Precious Life.
The week leading up to the opening of Marie Stopes, the Director of Precious Life, Bernadette Smyth, was harangued and bullied by pro‑abortion biased media interviewers every time she correctly stated the law - that abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland and a criminal offence.
The Attorney General set the record straight. Following his statement we sent a statement to all the media outlets calling on them to stop colluding with the pro-abortionist’s ‘big lie’ by deliberately stating the law wrongly by claiming ‘abortion is legal in certain circumstances. A criminal offence can NEVER be ‘legal’ under any circumstances.
The massive Rally in Belfast showed that the people of Northern Ireland want our unborn children protected. By opening their so-called ‘clinic’ Marie Stopes thought they had won the battle, but in reality they lost the war!
We then launched a massive lobby campaign to our Assembly Members - a Postcard Petition Campaign asking them to Stop Marie Stopes and ensure that their ‘clinic’ is closed and our unborn babies are protected.
Since the opening in October, we have maintained a PRAYER VIGIL outside Marie Stopes Centre on the days they are open - every Thursday and Saturday. At Christmas we also held candlelight vigil outside the 'abortion centre'.
Before Marie Stopes International were brought before the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly in January, Precious Life presented evidence to the Committee about the criminal activities that Marie Stopes International were planning in their Belfast Centre. We also presented evidence outlining Marie Stopes' illegal activities in other countries.
Paul Givan MLA and Alban Maginness MLA - both members of the Justice Committee - have now jointly tabled the amendment to outlaw private abortion 'clinics' operating in Northern Ireland. These Assembly Members are to be commended for acting to stop any criminal breaches of the law by Marie Stopes in Northern Ireland.
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