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07 / 12 / 2007 - Labour Party MPs Want Free Vote on Upcoming Abortion Bill
Members of the Labour Party are requesting that Prime Minister Gordon Brown give them a free vote on the upcoming Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. They don't want to be held to the government's position on its legislation, which promotes in-vitro fertilization and could be used to promote abortion.
The measure removes the requirement that fertility clinics be sure that a father is involved in the care for any child he creates.
It also opens the door to allowing scientists to make human-animal hybrids or chimera for research and eventually destroy the creations.
Meanwhile, some pro-abortion MPs have promised to attach pro-abortion language to the bill that could allow nurses to do abortions, remove the requirement that two doctors certify an abortion or allow them to be done in a non-hospital setting.
Labour MP Joe Benton, who is the secretary of a multi-partisan group of pro-life lawmakers, doesn't want to be forced to vote for any of those provisions and he told The Universe newspaper, "I am appealing to like-minded people to write to the three party leaders, urging them to allow a free vote on the bill."
“I certainly think there should be [a free vote]. There is definitely material there for objections of conscience," he added.
Labour MP Geraldine Smith, a member of the pro-life caucus in the parliament, agreed.
“These are matters of conscience and not party political issues," Smith said.
Some pro-life lawmakers hope to use the pending legislation as a means to reduce the number of late-term abortions. They want to lower the current 24 week time limit on doing abortions to 20 weeks into pregnancy.
They say modern technology such as 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds shows the humanity of the unborn child and that doctors are now able to save the lives of prematurely born babies better than ever before.
One leading pro-life group has opposed that call to lower the limit because it worries it will open the door to more abortions.
The measure removes the requirement that fertility clinics be sure that a father is involved in the care for any child he creates.
It also opens the door to allowing scientists to make human-animal hybrids or chimera for research and eventually destroy the creations.
Meanwhile, some pro-abortion MPs have promised to attach pro-abortion language to the bill that could allow nurses to do abortions, remove the requirement that two doctors certify an abortion or allow them to be done in a non-hospital setting.
Labour MP Joe Benton, who is the secretary of a multi-partisan group of pro-life lawmakers, doesn't want to be forced to vote for any of those provisions and he told The Universe newspaper, "I am appealing to like-minded people to write to the three party leaders, urging them to allow a free vote on the bill."
“I certainly think there should be [a free vote]. There is definitely material there for objections of conscience," he added.
Labour MP Geraldine Smith, a member of the pro-life caucus in the parliament, agreed.
“These are matters of conscience and not party political issues," Smith said.
Some pro-life lawmakers hope to use the pending legislation as a means to reduce the number of late-term abortions. They want to lower the current 24 week time limit on doing abortions to 20 weeks into pregnancy.
They say modern technology such as 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds shows the humanity of the unborn child and that doctors are now able to save the lives of prematurely born babies better than ever before.
One leading pro-life group has opposed that call to lower the limit because it worries it will open the door to more abortions.
Source: LifeNews.com