Catholic Leaders Attack 'Erosion of Respect' for Doctors Who Oppose Abortion

'The teaching of the Church could not be clearer in affirming that every human life must be presented and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.'

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, with Cardinal Tartaglia, 

has attacked Britain's abortion laws.

By Harry Farley

Christian Today

Catholic heads in the UK are issuing a robust defence of the Church's abortion teaching after criticism of bishops' stance from within the Catholic hierarchy.

Describing having a termination as a 'grave decision' the two leaders of the Catholic Church in England, Wales and Scotland attack the 'contradiction' in abortion laws for disabled babies and praised politicians who try to change the law.

They also lambast an 'erosion of respect' for those who oppose abortion, saying doctors and nurses 'face increasing difficulty in being able to combine their dedicated professional work with their personal conviction'.

Pointing to recent cases where doctors and pharmacists feel they cannot refuse to offer abortion services, the senior bishops write: 

'So much talent is being lost to important professional areas. Personal conscience is inviolable and no-one should be forced to act against their properly formed conscience in these matters. This is something which needs greater debate in our society.'

The joint statement from Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, president of the Scottish Bishops' Conference, marks the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act 1967 which first permitted terminations in some circumstances in the UK.

'Even despite the concerns raised at the time, it would, perhaps, have been difficult to predict that the number of abortions in our countries would have increased to such an alarming level,' they write, pointing to figures suggesting nearly 200,000 pregnancies were terminated in the UK in 2015 alone.

They launch an attack on disability laws in the UK, which allow abortions to take place up until birth if the baby has a deformity but ban terminations beyond the 24th week of pregnancy for babies without a disability.

'The witness of those who compete in the Paralympic games shines out as a way in which people with disability excel and compete, using their gifts to the full. We hope that greater reflection and consistency in the approach to unborn children with disabilities will lead to a change in understanding, with greater protection provided through new legislation,' they write.

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