It’s 52 years today since the Abortion Act came into force. Since then, we’ve seen around 9 ½ million abortions in the UK. That’s nearly the entire population of London.
Some of them have taken place in the kinds of situations first imagined by lawmakers as the 1967 Abortion Act was passed. But the vast majority of abortions now take place because of choice, not because of a real threat to the mother’s wellbeing.
I’m devastated for every one of these lives lost. And I’m devastated that the number of abortions, and the abortion rate, has been going up over the last ten years.
We all recognise the beauty and value of the unborn child when he or she is wanted. Miscarriages and stillbirths are deeply distressing because we know that a child has lost his or her life.
But advocates of abortion ignore the humanity of unborn children when they are not wanted. In their view, ‘not being wanted’ is a good enough reason to strip the child of all value and dignity and to give them no protection in law.
We’re working hard to stop even more abortions happening through home abortions, introduced because of the current coronavirus lockdown.
We, the Church, must find a way to reverse this bigger trend. We must pray that God would protect the innocent. We must speak on the unborn child’s behalf. We must kindly and compassionately show people the truth about what abortion truly is. We must be ready to support all pregnant mothers in crisis pregnancies to keep their children or give them up for adoption.
And we must hold out the grace and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ alone to all those caught up in the sin of abortion: for women who’ve chosen it, for men who’ve encouraged or coerced it, for doctors who’ve performed it, for activists who’ve campaigned for it, for politicians who’ve allowed it and for an electorate who has voted for them.
God is just, and God is good. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
How long, O Lord?
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