Pro-Life News from Ireland!

PRESS RELEASE: 30th November 2009

Catholic Lawyers Welcome High Court Judgement in Favour of SPUC.

In the High Court in Belfast judgement was handed down today by Lord Justice Girvan in favour of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), who had taken a case against the Department of Health in N Ireland for issuing flawed guidance on abortion.

Ordering that the guidance be withdrawn by the Department, the Judge pointed to two areas which he found to be legally wrong. Firstly, that it was misleading to suggest that medical practitioners had no legal basis for refusing to carry out abortions where the mothers life may be considered at risk, and secondly that it was open to possible illegality to suggest that a women should receive non directional counselling before a clinical decision was made as to the necessity of abortion to save her life. Given that abortion is illegal in N Ireland it was not possible to give a woman “non directional” counselling on the matter.

The ACLI has repeatedly told the Department of Health that its guidance contained flaws. This judgement confirms that  analysis.

Mrs Higgins stated “We are delighted to see that the Department has been told to take this guidance out of circulation and go back and get it right, however, we were disappointed that the Judge did not go further and take the point that the Unborn Child, which enjoys special protection from our laws, should be considered in any guidance issued.”

Mrs Higgins further stated “During consultations with the Department of Health in 2007 and 2008 the ACLI repeatedly warded of the irregularity of the Conscientious Objection clause, that it had in fact the effect of forcing doctors to commit abortions, even if they felt  that they may be illegal. Further that a Catholic doctor could never in conscience commit a deliberate and intended abortion, and yet this guidance would attempt to force then to do just that.”

The abortion guidelines are no longer  in force and will have to be returned to the drawing board for redrafting. The process of consultation and executive approval will than have to be repeated.

Mrs Higgins states; “Today  our insistence that the guidance was erroneous has been vindicated, moreover the safety of the Unborn Child has been secured for the moment.”

The ACLI considers that the Judges ruling concerning non directive counselling on abortion before a woman has been given a clinical opinion that here life is in danger, will pose great problems for the fpa(NI), an agency which supports the legalisation of abortion.

Mrs Higgins states: “The fpa(NI) routinely offer what they term “non directional” counselling on abortion before a clinical judgement has been made on the woman’s health. Today’s judgement calls into question the legality of such counselling .”

“Referring for abortion, or coaching a person on how to obtain an abortion, is illegal in this jurisdiction. Any  advice, dressed up as counselling, which attempts to do this is wrong. The fact that the Department of Health tried, by these guidelines to create a pathway for women to be counselled by the fpa(NI) and forwarded on to health professionals is a cause for serious concern.”

The ACLI intend to call for the funding currently handed out to the fpa(NI) by the Department of Health, from taxpayers money, to be halted  whilst  a proper investigation is carried out into the activities of the fpa(NI), an organisation which seems to operate very much on the edges of the law.

SPUC lodged work done by the ACLI and Dr John Keown with the court. The ACLI will pursue other issues which the court and the Judge did not address in this case, which also need to be resolved before these guidelines are redrafted.

END

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