The media is celebrating 50 years of abortion in Great Britain, but the public are raising their voice for the unborn.
Articles in the BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent mark the anniversary of the 1967 Act in largely positive ways.
But the public, in published letters and online, have been raising deep concerns, including one describing abortion as “one of the great human rights violations of our age”.
Backlash
In letters published by The Guardian, readers criticised the “enthusiastic support for unrestricted abortion” and highlighted the monetary cost to the NHS at a time of financial difficulty for the organisation.
They also warned against the rush to further liberalise the law and said a pro-abortion columnist had failed to admit the obvious difference between abortion and medical procedures.
Commentators online questioned the ‘progressive’ push to “support the legal killing of very young children” and challenged the “chilling” lack of regard for the unborn from the media.
Media support
In The Telegraph’s article, featuring a number of women who have had abortions, Gillian says she made the right decision to have an abortion because she “wanted to live my life” and Susan claimed her life “would have been over” if she had a child with Down’s syndrome.
In The Guardian’s editorial, the paper claimed millions of women have “benefited” from abortion which has “transformed” their future.
It said the 1967 Act was only a “job half done” and the time was now right for decriminalisation.
Life starts at birth?
The Guardian’s website also carried a video about the subject, with one woman claiming she was “really really happy” she could have an abortion.
The man who brought the abortion law to Parliament, David Steel, now a Peer, wrote in The Independent about his desire for decriminalisation, and suggested life only begins at birth.
In an online video for BBC Radio 5 Live, two women are shown discussing their abortions, with one saying she felt “relief” after the “operation”.
Pressured
In another BBC article, more balance is in evidence with two women talking about how they “felt very pressured into having an abortion” and how heartbreaking they found the experience.
However, links at the end of article point users to four pro-abortion groups, and only one pro-life group – the charity Life.
