The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill passed its Third and final Reading in the House of Commons yesterday evening 22nd October and is now very close to becoming law after MPs approved it by 355 votes to 129. The Bill now passes briefly to the Lords and then to Royal Assent. All further attempts to amend the Bill failed and it is now extremely unlikely that any of it will be changed.
What does this mean? Animal-human hybrids, so-called ‘saviour siblings’ (designer babies) and fatherless IVF children will soon be with us. All of this was virtually inevitable given that this is a Government Bill that the Government was determined to pass and all previous attempts to amend it had failed. Just 16 Government MPs voted against the Bill yesterday evening.
However, the Government succeeded in scheduling discussion of amendments so that there was not enough time to discuss abortion-related issues. This meant that all attempts to liberalise the abortion law failed. This is in the main due to the amount of pressure the Government and other MPs came under as a result of pushing such an extreme pro-abortion agenda, and the fact that it was highlighted so successfully by many pro-life groups, including CCFON.
This seemed impossible just a week ago when a small cross-party group of MPs with extreme views were planning to hijack the Bill to introduce a series of amendments to the Abortion Act, which if passed would have meant abortion on request up to 24 weeks; nurse abortion; GP surgery abortion with completion at home, and extension of the Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. There was even an amendment proposing prison sentences of up to two years for pro-life pregnancy crisis counsellors found guilty of ‘misleading advertising’.
It is a huge answer to prayer that none of these measures were passed. Many pro-abortion MPs went home very unhappy last night.
Thank you to everyone at CCFON for your support and ceaseless campaigning, sending postcards to MPS, writing, phoning, visiting etc.
The good news is that 18 months of fighting against the liberalisation of abortion through this Bill is now over—and God has delivered us in this battle.
To hold the ground against the might of the trade unions, the medical institutions, the abortion industry and a hugely pro-choice Parliament is miraculous indeed—praise be to God!
However, the battle on behalf of the unborn child will continue, perhaps for a lifetime. We will press on until we see the law of this land changed so that the most vulnerable are wholly protected.
At CCFON we continue to need funds to stand for God’s Truth at the heart of this Nation. If you are able to help us we would be grateful. http://www.ccfon.org/donation.php