Sign Manuel's petition to end abortions on the NHS
A Christian film student has created a petition calling for an end to abortion services being offered on the NHS.
Manuel Ngochinya says that as a Christian, he believes "all human life without exception is equally valuable: woman, child, black, white, murderer or thief, all have equal worth".
The petition, which has almost 5,000 signatures so far, has attracted widespread attention and heated discussion on social media. It needs 10,000 signatures for Parliament to respond to the petition, and 100,000 for it to debate the issue.
Speaking to Christian Concern, Manuel says he is hoping to bring the issue of abortion "into mainstream consciousness".
Unborn babies are fully human
Manuel's petition calls for the NHS to stop providing abortion services.
In an article on The University Paper, Manuel explains that he does not want his money to fund the taking of "innocent life".
He highlights that since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act, over 8 million lives have been lost to abortion.
"We use the word foetus to refer to an unborn child as a way to distance ourselves from what it really is, a human life. It may not be able to survive by itself but neither does a new born baby which has full human rights.
"If we concede that the unborn children are in fact fully human," he says, "then we have allowed for the genocide of the most innocent humans on earth over the past half century."
'I don't mind being hated for their sake'
Since sharing his petition online he has received a large amount of verbal abuse, but says he is willing to be hated for defending the unborn child.
"They have no choice and they have no voice and I don't mind being hated for their sake," he said.
Motivated by love of Christ
Manuel, who studies at Anglia Ruskin University, is motivated by his faith in Christ and the intrinsic value of all life as created in God's image.
In this video {LINK} he tells Christian Concern: "Just over a year ago I became a Christian, I found the love of Christ and He really showed me the value of all human life.
"Over the past year I've really been doing a lot of thinking about what it means to be human and what our real value is, and the issue of abortion kept coming to the forefront.
"I'm hoping to really bring into the mainstream consciousness that this really is an issue that warrants debate, one that deserves our undivided attention because human lives are on the line.
"You can be change – if you sign this petition, your voice can be heard. People in government and society at large will hear your voice."
There is forgiveness for everyone in Jesus
For the Christian Concern website he added:
"Under no circumstances do I condemn any woman who has had an abortion. My own mother has had more than one.
"Women who decide to have abortions are often in dire circumstances, and do the best with what they have. A person's worth is not defined by their acts and there is forgiveness for everyone in Jesus. In the Bible it says that if we confess our sins to God we can be cleaned from ALL unrighteousness in Jesus, and I truly believe this.
"But the act itself is still morally wrong, and this is why I am challenging the provision of abortions on the NHS."
Please sign Manuel's petition to help it gain the needed number of signatures.
Related Links:
I'm the student who started the anti-abortion petition and this is why I did it (The University Paper)
Abortion up-to-birth bill to be heard by Parliament
The 'pro-choice' argument is betraying women | Camilla Olim