Thursday, March 28, 2024

British Parliament Forces Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage on Northern Ireland

The British Parliament exploited a political dispute in Northern Ireland to force the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage in the region.

Northern Ireland, a country of 1.9 million, is a “devolved region,” meaning it has some autonomy but is subject to the rule of the United Kingdom. But its governing body has been suspended for over two and a half years because of a dispute between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, the two major parties in the country which have failed to form a government in the country’s parliamentary system.

The British Parliament has retained more power as a result of the dispute and decided to exploit the country’s internal turmoil to pass the Northern Ireland Bill in July with amendments to legalize abortion and same-sex marriage. If the feuding parties did not form a government by October 21st, the bill would take effect.

DUP legislators andallies from smaller parties came together this week in the Northern Irelandassembly for the first time in three years to stop the imposition. But leftistlegislators declined to show up, and the assembly did not have enough memberspresent to elect a speaker and thus could not conduct any business.

The changes will allowgenerally unrestricted abortion, including legal abortion on the grounds ofdisability and sex.

“This is not progress;it is a retrograde step,” said Nola Leach ofNorthern Ireland’s Christian Action Research Education (CARE). “The people of Northern Irelanddeserve more than this. We continue to believe that both lives matter and ourwork to be a voice for the voiceless and to argue for a better way that upholdsthe dignity of both mothers and babies.”

DUPleader Arlene Foster declared, “This is not a day of celebration for theunborn,” and vowed to continue the fight, saying, “This is not theend of the matter as far as this party is concerned, we will take everypossible legal option open to us.”

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