7th November 2007
Headlines
Romans 1 v 25 – “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator...”
On Nov 6th the Queen outlined the Government’s plans for the laws it wants to introduce this year. Included in the list of twenty nine Bills were the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. These Bills will have a massive impact on the foundations of our society. It is significant that in the media coverage of the Queen’s Speech so little has been said about these Bills which will have an effect on some of the basic building blocks of our society. As our recent updates have indicated, the content of these Bills will create further obstacles for Christians wanting to live out and proclaim Biblical truth in the public arena and will have a negative impact on the whole of society.
Human and animal hybrids – striking at the heart of humanity
Redefining the family – removal of the father
Saviour siblings – designer babies and life as a commodity
The Government are pressing ahead with laws to allow the creation of ‘cytoplasmic hybrid embryos’ (human cells mixed with animal eggs) and ‘true’ hybrids (human eggs mixed with animal sperm and vice versa). Although these proposals have been described as ones which will “ensure Britain remains at the forefront of medical research”, experimenting in this way is not only a horrific affront to God’s creation order, usurping His role as Creator, but is highly dangerous, unethical and unbiblical.
Furthermore, Parliament will relinquish to the regulator of embryo research, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the power to decide the boundaries of science in this area in the future. We cannot predict what scientists will do when given this amount of power to play with the embryo. Unimagined science fiction possibilities could become a living reality.
The family as we know it will be redefined when laws are introduced to allow lesbian couples to gain automatic legal status as parents (two mother legal parenthood) over children born using a sperm donor, even though only one of them will be biologically related to the child.
Homosexual men will also be allowed to apply for a parental order (two father legal parenthood) where a child has been born from a surrogate mother. We can only expect our society to suffer as the full effects of the redefined ‘family’ are played out in years to come.
The previous legal stipulation that in IVF treatment there should be the consideration of the need for a father is done away with and parenthood will be defined in law according to a person’s preference rather than truth, biological fact or the child’s best interests. This flies in the face of the biblical ideal for family - that children should be born to a mother and a father who are married.
The new Bill also broadens the scope for ‘saviour siblings’. Existing law allows embryo selection in order to treat existing children who suffer from life threatening conditions. This process involves the destruction of countless other healthy embryos. Proposals in the bill will extend the law so that embryos can be selected to help children with a ‘serious illness’ too. As there is no legal definition for ‘serious illness’, it could include anything which treatment providers feel should fall within the definition and liberalise this already flawed approach to the treatment of sick children.
We will be providing an action pack soon on how to respond to this piece of legislation.
To read the latest media comment on the Queen’s Speech, and to read the Speech itself, please click on the links below.
Links
The full text of the Queen’s Speech
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7080881.stm
The Guardian explaining the provisions
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/queensspeech2007/story/0,,2206052,00.html
The Times ‘controversy rating' on the provisions, which rates the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill at 5/5, and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (see below) as 4/5.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2821216.ece
BBC explaining the provisions
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7080446.stm
Incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexuality
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill will include a provision making it a criminal offence to incite hatred against a person on the grounds of their sexuality. The provisions represent a serious attack on freedom of expression and freedom of speech. As Christians we must love people irrespective of their sexuality, but we are also called to speak the truth in love. This new law will put us in a difficult position if biblical teaching on homosexuality is perceived as that which incites hatred against homosexuals. We are concerned we will be unable to speak openly about the bible’s teaching on sex and sexuality.
In addition, the introduction of such a law is unnecessary because the criminal law already prohibits physical and verbal assaults as well as the use of threatening language and behaviour against homosexuals, as it does against all people.
We are expecting the Report of the Public Bills Committee considering these proposals to be published shortly and we will keep you updated as to any further developments.
To read all the latest media coverage on this proposal please click on the links above.
To read the LCF submission to the proposal please click on the link below.
Link
LCF Submission on homosexual hatred proposal
http://www.lawcf.org/index.asp?page=LCF+Submission+on+homosexual+hatred+proposal
Christian Councillor receives internet death threat over mega-mosque
Christian Councillor Alan Craig, who is a leading opponent of plans to build a ‘mega mosque’ in east London in time for the 2012 Olympic Games, has alerted police to an obituary he discovered on the popular internet site YouTube. The film is entitled ‘In memory of Councillor Alan Craig’ and shows pictures of Mr Craig, a member of the Christian Peoples Alliance, with his wife and two young daughters. The video has apparently been posted in response to Mr Craig’s opposition to the planned mega mosque and was made by a 23 year old Muslim from Stevenage who ends the film with the statement “The mosque will be built in time for the 2012 Olympic Games”. This is a chilling reminder of the kind of opposition Christians may face as they speak out on the issue of Islam. Please remember Mr Craig and his family in your prayers.
A full update on the issues surrounding the mega mosque is being prepared.
To read the media coverage on this story, please click on the links below.
Links
YouTube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8W4nBAFXBk
The Evening Standard on Alan Craig death threat
The Daily Mail on Alan Craig death threat
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=491977&in_page_id=1770
The Daily Telegraph on Alan Craig death threat
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/07/nutube207.xml