Campaigners have launched a drive to strengthen protections for unborn children on the Isle of Man.
HEAR – Humanity and Equality in Abortion Reform – is speaking out as pro-abortionists seek to mirror the 1967 British Abortion Act.
But HEAR, made up of volunteers from the island, says this move would take citizens back to a time when there was less concern for the vulnerable, ‘cementing’ discrimination against children with disabilities.
Disability
The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency, with its own Parliament.
Currently, the law on abortion – based on legislation from 1995 – is generally stronger than that in Great Britain.
It provides more protection for unborn children, including disabled children, and includes a stricter two-doctor rule for making decisions on abortions.
Dignity
Pro-life Peer Lord Alton spoke at the launch event, alongside Peter D Williams of the Right To Life group.
Hannah Grove, from HEAR, urged the Isle of Man to “lead the way in affirming the equal dignity of all human beings – female and male, unborn and born, and regardless of ability”.
HEAR called for help to be provided to parents who have children with disabilities, instead of returning to a time when “attitudes were much less governed by a conviction of basic human equality or a corresponding concern for the welfare of all the most vulnerable”.
8 million abortions
In May, figures from the Department of Health – for residents of England and Wales – showed that there were 185,824 abortions in 2015.
They also revealed that more than 200 babies were aborted after the 24-week limit, most of these on the grounds of disability.
Since the 1967 Abortion Act, over 8 million abortions have taken place in Great Britain.
