Poster drive against abortion

last week the Preston branch of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child held a meeting to decide on a plan of action for the forthcoming General Election in its campaign against the ,1967 Abortion Act.
It was decided to distribute posters outside churches and to ask clubs and shops to display them. Fifty display sites have also been bought in the Preston area.
, It was decided to approach societies of all denominations for co-operation in action for an amendment to the Act. Many local Parliamentary candidates have already been canvassed as to their views on abortion. Others have still to be approached, arid the meeting resolved that this should be done formally.
The replies of the candidates would then be considered, and people who thought this a major issue could judge for themselves the support any of the candidates would give to any amendment of the Act which might be proposed in the next Parliament.
Under the heading "False pledge by Tories," an article appeared in the Catholic Herald of February 15 which stated that Mrs. Phyllis Bowman, a prominent member of S.P.U.C., had condemned as "politicking" a pledge in the Conservative Party election manifesto to "introduce a reform of the abortion law in the light of the Lane Committee Report."
She said: "According to our reliable sources the Lane Cornmittee will recommend extension of so-called 'charitable pregnancy advisory services' which supply abortion on demand,
"It also recommends that in those areas
gynaecologists are opposed to abortion, special facilities should be set up so that there will be abortion for everyone. In other words Lane will facilitate abortion on demand.
"However. people reading the Conservative Party manifesto will he misled into imagining that they intend to restrict abortion. And as a result the Conservatives will capture the anti-abortion vote.
"People who intend to cast their vote on the abortion issue should ask candidates, regardless of party. whether they will fight for the restriction of the abortion law. Any Conservative candidate quoting his party's manifesto should have made clear to him that this would lead to abortion on demand.
"This is totally against the whole spirit of the original Act passed by Parliament in 1961."