Abortion figures are a serious cause for concern – despite what BPAS says
In a recent opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph, the head of one of the UK’s largest abortionists highlighted that more abortions happened in England and Wales in 2019 than ever before.
This is “no cause for concern”, says BPAS CEO Ann Furedi, because we live “in a society where women are making their own choice, and the procedure is safe”. She denies that abortion is often unsafe for women – there can often be painful, long-term physical and mental side-effects – and that it is never safe for the baby.
She goes on. Abortion “must be available in any civilized society”, and that we must all rally behind a woman’s ‘right to choose’.
This ‘right’, Furedi says, is imperative in a society in which women have more opportunities outside the family and home than ever before, and they must be able to chase their dreams without being weighed down by the burden of motherhood.
Easier abortions
Furedi, who is believed to earn in excess of £170,000 per year, has campaigned for many years to make it easier for women to get abortions. She has championed sex-selective abortion (which almost invariably means abortion of girls). More recently she has been campaigning for a complete free-for-all; scrapping the 24-week limit and saying women should be able to have an abortion for any reason all the way up to birth.
The State of New York passed such a law last year, and Furedi was quick to praise it. She called on UK lawmakers to do the same.
She has previously said that life only matters if it’s wanted, and sees abortion as nothing more than ‘backup’ contraception. Furedi has also said an abortion procedure should be viewed as if it were a minor medical operation akin to removing a mole.
Now she is arguing that although British women have excellent access to contraception, and excellent take-up of it, there needs to be another option for women who don’t want a baby. Contraception sometimes fails, she says, but abortion is a complete ‘fail-safe’.
Destructive messaging
It’s this kind of messaging which is so prevalent in our society today. No mention of the inherent worth, dignity or value of the unborn child. No mention of the child’s own right to life. No mention of its potential future.
The Bible is crystal clear that humanity is made in the image of God. Every life is valuable, cared for by God, and each being, no matter how small, was carefully ‘knitted together’ by God – “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139).
Women and girls are led to believe that abortion is nothing to worry about, that it’s entirely normal. They are told that an unwanted child is not a living human being and that they should feel no guilt in ‘terminating’ it, because it is disposable.
But this cavalier disregard for the sanctity of life is a cause for concern in our society. More infant deaths, sacrificed at the altar of bodily autonomy, is no reason to celebrate. This is a reason to mourn, and a reason to defend the lives of those who cannot speak for themselves.
There were 207,384 abortions in England and Wales last year. More than 9,000,000 have taken place since the Abortion Act 1967 came in.
As Christians, we must pray for a shift in our culture, so that people see abortion for what it is: a terrible wrong that is unacceptable and which must be stopped.
[SOURCES]https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/abortion-numbers-among-older-women/
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