Bishop in Belfast expresses dismay over abortion clinic

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

A Catholic bishop in Belfast has expressed dismay over the scheduled opening of the first abortion clinic on the island of Ireland.

Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, whose diocese includes Belfast, said he is dismayed that Marie Stopes International was scheduled to open a clinic in Belfast on October 18.

“The opening of this facility further undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life in our society where the most vulnerable and defenseless human beings are already under threat,” Treanor said in a statement quoted by the Catholic News Service.

“Not only must we show compassion for women who find themselves facing an unwanted pregnancy, but we should support them to explore avenues which provide care while respecting the life of their child in the womb. We should enable them to respond to such situations in a life-affirming and positive way,” he said.

“It is with great concern and dismay that I, like many fellow citizens who value and seek to protect human life, received news of the decision to open a Marie Stopes Clinic in Belfast where medical abortion will be offered,” Treanor said.

Forty percent of Northern Ireland’s population is Catholic. All but one party in the legislature there has members in the All Party Pro-Life Group.

The report said the clinic will only offer medical, not surgical, abortions and will only terminate pregnancies up to the first nine weeks of pregnancy, as per Northern Irish law.

Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, where abortions can be performed up until the 24th week of pregnancy, the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply in Northern Ireland.

Sources