All the indications are that the more people know about the facts, the more prolife they become
It's great to wake up on a bank holiday morning and see a YouGov poll that shows that public opinion is strongly behind a restriction of abortion. The poll for the Daily Telegraph shows that only 2% of the public support the extreme position represented by the abortion agencies and proabortion lobbyists in this country who have a massively disproportionate influence on our laws, such as Marie Stopes and BPAS, who support abortion on demand on babies that are 6 months old and allowing abortion up to birth.
This means that discounting the 9% who don't know, a total of 89% think that there needs to be restrictions on the age at which a baby can be aborted. While some people continue to support abortions on babies at 6 months, a total of 64% think that the abortion law should be reduced from the current 24 week limit. The urgent question that has to be asked is why is it when there have been call after call for the abortion limit to be restricted that our abortion laws are still dictated by a 2% extreme proabortion fringe?
It's not as though this is the first poll that has showed that the public backs a serious restriction of abortion law (see Student LifeNet's neat collation of polling results). This is a natural consequence of greater information being available to the public about the sophistocated development of the baby.
Currently public and parliamentary opinion support either a 20 week restriction (which is arguably terribly late for anyone who knows how developed the baby is at this stage), or a 12 week restriction (inspired by the beautiful ultrasound pictures of the baby walking in the womb). I have no doubt that the more people know about the baby's development, the greater the demand will be that our laws are focused on the humanity of the baby.
Two years ago, I was telling one of my friends that I was arrested for showing a picture of a 21 week old aborted baby while I was a ProLife Alliance election candidate for the Welsh assembly elections. There is really very little difference between a 20 week abortion and a 21 week abortion, which just shows how inadequate a restriction to 20 weeks would be. A baby aborted at 21 weeks is an horrific sight and one which I do not wish anyone to see but any debate has to be weighted in reality not euphemism. I was asking her, how is it that we have child protection laws and yet we allow abortions of babies (nearly 3,000 abortions a year on babies over 20 weeks). I remember her response was "it's not a child". I said how is it not a child at 24 weeks, six months pregnancy, when the baby is perfectly formed and can survive if born prematurely ??!! I remember the look on her face. A year later, in 2004 after the articles that were in the papers previewing the Channel 4 documentary My Foetus, and calls from every quarter it seemed for a restriction of abortion, she wrote to me and said my views have completely changed, of course it is wrong, its about human rights not about choice.
It's great to wake up on a bank holiday morning and see a YouGov poll that shows that public opinion is strongly behind a restriction of abortion. The poll for the Daily Telegraph shows that only 2% of the public support the extreme position represented by the abortion agencies and proabortion lobbyists in this country who have a massively disproportionate influence on our laws, such as Marie Stopes and BPAS, who support abortion on demand on babies that are 6 months old and allowing abortion up to birth.
This means that discounting the 9% who don't know, a total of 89% think that there needs to be restrictions on the age at which a baby can be aborted. While some people continue to support abortions on babies at 6 months, a total of 64% think that the abortion law should be reduced from the current 24 week limit. The urgent question that has to be asked is why is it when there have been call after call for the abortion limit to be restricted that our abortion laws are still dictated by a 2% extreme proabortion fringe?
It's not as though this is the first poll that has showed that the public backs a serious restriction of abortion law (see Student LifeNet's neat collation of polling results). This is a natural consequence of greater information being available to the public about the sophistocated development of the baby.
Currently public and parliamentary opinion support either a 20 week restriction (which is arguably terribly late for anyone who knows how developed the baby is at this stage), or a 12 week restriction (inspired by the beautiful ultrasound pictures of the baby walking in the womb). I have no doubt that the more people know about the baby's development, the greater the demand will be that our laws are focused on the humanity of the baby.
Two years ago, I was telling one of my friends that I was arrested for showing a picture of a 21 week old aborted baby while I was a ProLife Alliance election candidate for the Welsh assembly elections. There is really very little difference between a 20 week abortion and a 21 week abortion, which just shows how inadequate a restriction to 20 weeks would be. A baby aborted at 21 weeks is an horrific sight and one which I do not wish anyone to see but any debate has to be weighted in reality not euphemism. I was asking her, how is it that we have child protection laws and yet we allow abortions of babies (nearly 3,000 abortions a year on babies over 20 weeks). I remember her response was "it's not a child". I said how is it not a child at 24 weeks, six months pregnancy, when the baby is perfectly formed and can survive if born prematurely ??!! I remember the look on her face. A year later, in 2004 after the articles that were in the papers previewing the Channel 4 documentary My Foetus, and calls from every quarter it seemed for a restriction of abortion, she wrote to me and said my views have completely changed, of course it is wrong, its about human rights not about choice.
posted by Fiona at 10:00 AM
5 Comments:
Welcome to the blogosphere!
I just stumbled across your blog today by reading the aggregator at ProLifeBlogs. After reading what you have so far and following some of your links, I'm thinking that you might prove to be a good go-to place for solid information. I've done a welcome post and added you to my links list.
Best of luck in getting your voice heard.
This blog is off to a great start with useful informative postings, and you're so right that any thinking person not currently prolife on any matter should surely change their mind when they learn some facts or hear about some of the reality! Keep up the fine work!
I think if people knew how developed the baby is at 12 weeks, 15 weeks, 18 weeks etc, they couldn't possibly accept a 20 week limit! It would be interesting to know amongst those polled how developed they think the baby is at 12 weeks and what their reason is for latching on to a 20 week limit.
Its sad to hear only 2% of the population want abortion at such a late stage and yet our law is governed by this minority.
You certainly have helped me with providing info and helped me to form my own opinions about abortion. it is hard to form an opinion without the facts and we are discovery a lot about babies and their development all the time. Things that make them more and more human throughout the pregnancy. I think its appalling that people want to have abortions up to birth and that should never be allowed to happen.
You are right the more people know about pregnancy and the baby the more calls for abortion restrictions there will be.
After hearing for many years stories of how women had no idea they were pregnant until the last minute,and laughing at their apparent stupidity, I myself have been dealing with a similar situation and call for abortion limits to be lengthened!! I found out im 19 weeks,4 days, and when I have MY abortion I will be about 22 weeks. It WAS an easy decision, I dont feel guilty and feel there is far too mech guilt put on women and young girls wishing to do this, and I think there are more women who SHOULD have terminations to stop so many ignorant little girls becoming parents. I respect your opinions, Though after stumbling across this page I felt I had to comment.
Post a Comment
<< Home