Bishop defies hecklers at pro-life rally

Speaking out strongly against the embryology Bill, Brentwood bishop urges campaigners to keep fighting
BY SIMON CALDWELL
A CATHOLIC bishop has braved the taunts of hecklers to encourage hundreds of pro-life activists to oppose moves to make abortion easier.
Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood spoke at a rally against the Human and Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in London.
He said he wanted to give a "message of endorsement" to campaigners opposed to the Bill that proposes the creation of animal-human hybrids for experimentation, so-called "saviour siblings" for donor tissue for sick children and the abolition of the requirement of IVF doctors to have regard to the need of a child for a father.
Bishop McMahon told the gathering in Methodist Central Hall that "together we must be a prophetic voice to say 'no' to the creation of life in the laboratory purely for research".
"We must say 'no' to the harvesting of tissues from reject embryos," he said. "We say `no' certainly to the mixing of both human and animal genes, which fills most people with a natural revulsion.
"We also say `no' to those who want to use this Bill to make abortion even more available. We say 'no' to committees that exclude people becalm of their pro-life views.
"We must protest against the idea that a father be removed from law or even being named on the birth certificate. Finally we must press strongly for a national bioethics committee to control scientists."
He added that there were many people "with or without faith" who held human life to be sacred. 'Together we must not allow the unthinkable to become the acceptable and then accepted in our society," he said.
The Westminster rally was held just days after the HFE Bill completed its passage through the House of Lords without a single pro-life amendment being accepted.
It was picketed by scores of placard-waving Socialist Wolters' Party activists who booed and chanted slogans at people as they arrived. Some attempted to obstruct the entrance to the hall and had to be held back by police officers,.
A small but vocal number of others gained access to the meeting which they continually tried to disrupt.
Lord Alton of Liverpool, the first speaker, WAS subjected to a torrent of invective after he raised the prospect of some MPs seeking to make access to abortion even easier.
The meeting erupted into near chaos when he showed images of aborted babies. Some of the protesters set off rape alarms and began to chant and scream so he could not be heard. Some were escorted out by stewards but others clung to their seats and continued to shout at speakers for the duration of the meeting.
The rally was also addressed by Tory MPs Ann Widde combe, Edward Leigh and David Burrowes. by Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship. and by Labour MPs Jim Dobbin and Geraldine Smith.
The speakers urged the audience to alert people to the urgent need to lobby their MPs to vote against the Bill.
In the first signs of a backbench rebellion against the Bill, Mr Dobbin, the Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton, told the meeting he would be willing to oppose the Government.
"If there is no free vote accorded by the Government! will be voting against this Bill." said Mr Dobbin, the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group.
The former microbiologist said he stood for "ethical science that protects the dignity of human beings and does not seek to use human life as raw material".
He said he would be meeting the Prime Minister to discuss a free vote after the February recess, adding that "some of my colleagues in the Cabinet are going to do the same".
Catholic Cabinet Ministers such as Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly. Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, Defence Secretary Des Browne and the Northern Ireland Minister Paul Goggins are known to be deeply unhappy about the contents of the Bill.
If any of them defied a threeline whip they would at the least be expected to resign from the Cabinet, Miss Kelly and Mr Goggins have already met Geoff Hoon, Labour's chief whip, to request that voting restrictions are removed from much of the Bill.
Labour sources say three Labour whips Tommy McAvoy, Tony Cunningham and Frank Roy. all of whom are Catholics also have serious ethical problems with some of the contents of the Bill.
The legislation completed its passage in the House of Lords last week and could arrive in the House of Commons at any time after February 25. The Government imposed a three-line whip on Labour peers for each vote, ensuring the failure of all six attempts to amend the Bill by Lords opposed to it.
The Tories permitted free votes, as did the Liberal Democrats with the exception of the fatherlessness provision.
Normally, three-line whips are used only on key issues, such as when the Government faces a vote of no-confidence or a vital loss of tax revenue if a Bill is overturned. So far, the Government intends to allow a free vote only on abortion, a traditional issue of conscience which does not feature in the Bill. The legislation will provide MPs with the first opportunity to amend the 1967 Abortion Act in 18 years.
Some MPs want to lower the upper time limit from 24 to 20 weeks but pm-abortion MPs are preparing a raft of amendments to further liberalise the 1967, a law which is already considered one of the most permissive in the world.
Feature: Page 9