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Pro-Life Conference, Ealing Abbey, 15th October 2011
Threats to Life at its Earliest Stages
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Life begins at conceptionFACT!
The development of a human being begins with fertilization, a process
by which two highly specialised cells, the spermatozoon from the maleand the oocyte from the female, unite to give rise to a new organism,the zygote.
(Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Williamsand Wilkins, 1975, p. 3)
Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical
landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically
distinct human organism is thereby formed....The embryo now existsas a genetic unity.(O'Rahilly, Ronan and Mller, Fabiola. Human Embryology &Teratology. 2nd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996, pp. 8, 29.)
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Different approaches to howwe view the embryo
No special status whatsoever
A gradualist approach
Full respect as a human being
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Practices that do not respect lifeat its earliest stage
In Vitro Fertilisation
Embryo Research/HumanCloning
Chemical Contraception
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Baroness Mary
Warnock
We recommend thatno live human
embryo derived fromIVF, whether frozenor unfrozen, may bekept alive, if not
transferred to awoman, beyond 14days, after
fertilisation
Warnock Report, 1984
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UK has one of the most liberal approaches inthe world
HFEA criticised for having crossed the
boundary from regulation to advocacy
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008has an anything goes attitude
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Since 1990, there have beenover 2 million human embryoshave been destroyed through
IVF & experimentation
If we maintain that thedeveloping embryo is deserving
of the same respect as otherhumans, this is a grave injustice
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What ideas drive this lack ofrespect for the embryo?
A right to a child
Potentially unlimited cures
Pursuit of knowledge withoutboundaries
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Scientific justification for the HFE Act 2008 regardinghybrids, given to Parliamentary Committee
Dr Lovell-Badge said:I cannot think of a good experiment to do now but I am
sure someone will think of a good experiment.
Professor Bobrow said:We are also not aware of any pressing scientific
reasons at the moment for creating such entities, butwho knows what tomorrow might bring?
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A child is not something owedto one but is a
gift. The supreme gift of marriage is a humanperson. A child may not be considered apiece of property, an idea to which an allegedright to a child would lead. In this area, only
the child possesses genuine rights: the rightto be the fruit of the specific act of theconjugal love of his parents, and the right tobe respected as a person from the moment of
his conception.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 2378)
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Abortion
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Abortion Act 1967
Abortion legal up to 24 weeks
unless theres a risk that the child might bedisabled in some way, then abortion is legalup to full term
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Abortionlethal discrimination
An abnormal foetus is not aborted because it would die,
but on the contrary because it would be healthy enoughto live a sub-human existence. Essentially it is for social,ethical and aesthetic reasons that some people recoilfrom the survival of such sub-humans and prefer to see
them aborted."
(M Simms and Keith Hindell, Abortion Law Reformed,London: Peter Owen, 1971)
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Abortionthe lesser evil?
you cannot separate womens rights from their right to fertility
control. The single biggest factor in womens liberation was our
newly found ability to impose our will on our biology As ever,when an issue we thought was black and white becomes morenuanced, the answer lies in choosing the lesser evil. The nearly200,000 aborted babies in the UK each year are the lesser evil, nomatter how you define life, or death, for that matter. If youare willing to die for a cause, you must be prepared to kill for it,too.
Antonia Senior, The Times, 30 June 2010
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In 2010, there werethe followingnumber of
abortions
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Which means thereare this many
abortions everyday
555 every day
in the UK
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Since 27th April1968, this number
of children havebeen aborted in theUK
Thankgoodnessfor pro-life
Ireland!
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Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forthin this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status
Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, libertyand security of person.
Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognitioneverywhere as a person before the law
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The question before us is, whether the classof persons described {descendants ofslaves}are constituent members of this
sovereignty? We think they are not, and that
they are not included, and were not intended tobe included under the word citizens in the
Constitutionthey were considered as a
subordinate and inferior class of beingsand
had no rights or privileges but such as thosewho held the power and the Government mightchoose to grant them
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 US 393 (1856)
Supreme Court of America
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The word person, as used in the
Fourteenth Amendment, does notinclude the unborn
Roe v Wade, 410 US 113 (1973)
Lightning strikes twice
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the foetus has no right of action,
no right at all, until birth.Paton v British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Trustees, [1979] QB 276
UK justice is not much better
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the unborn child is not regarded as a
person directly protected by Article 2 ofthe Convention (the right to life)
Vo v France(53924/00), (2005) 40 EHRR 12
European Court of Human Rights
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The promotion of theculture of life should
be the highest priorityin our societies If theright to life is notdefended decisively as
a condition for allother rights of theperson, all otherreferences to humanrights remain deceitfuland illusory.
Pope John Paul II
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THE GREATEST DESTROYER OF
PEACE TODAY ISABORTIONBECAUSE IF A
MOTHER CAN KILL HER OWNCHILD, WHAT IS LEFT FOR ME TO
KILL YOU AND YOU KILL ME.THERE IS NOTHING IN BETWEEN.
MOTHER TERESANOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER
1979
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Men &
abortion
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All this is a bitdepressing Joe,
dont you haveany good news
to tell us?!
Funny you mentionthat young one, I
was just coming tothat!
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HELPING KEEPIRELAND ABORTION
FREE AT THEALL IRELAND RALLYFOR LIFE JULY 2010
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The rain came down, the streams rose, and thewinds blew and beat against that house, and it fellwith a great crash.
Matthew 7:27
Culture of Life v Culture of Death
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You know, in thiswhole abortion
debate, no onehas asked mewhat I think!
Well, nows yourchance youngonewhat do youthink of abortion?
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Abortion? I
can livewithout it!!
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