Labour MP challenges bishops on family problems

The Pope has re-emphasised the duty of all Christians to oppose laws which facilitate the „destruction of life by abortion. He told a meeting of Italian midwives and health-workers last week that Catholics nurses and doctors should refuse to assist at abortions. Hc added: "There is no human law which can make legal something as intrinsically unfair as abortion."
The report stage reading of Mr John Currie's Abortion (Amendment) Bill in the House of Commons today, offers proof of %\ hat pro-life lobbying can achieve.
After the mass lobby of Parliament by the thousands of SPUC supporters last week and the Archbishops joint statement on abortion. Mr Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead. has introduced a new element into the abortion debate.
He has written to Cardinal Hume, congratulating him on the statement but urging that the abortion question be examined within a "wider context". Mr Field pointed out, "We cannot
shirk the fact that bringing up children after their brith can cause problems of inconvenience. embarrassment and the risk of poverty.
He argued that the archbishops had failed as yet to offer a solution to the growing numbers of poor children and the disproportionate tax burden on families with children.
"I don't think I exaggerate when I say that I have received hundreds of letters asking me to vote against the Corrie Bill. I have not received one letter from anyone. Catholic or otherwise, asking me to vote in favour of measures which help parents fulfil their responsibilities towards their children," wrote Mr Fields.
Surveys conducted by the Sunday Times and Woman's Own seem to indicate that the majority of women in England would like to see abortions made more easily available. and a significant majority it seems, would like them to be on demand.
More than 10,000 proabortionists gathered in Westminster on 'Tuesday when However, statistics collected by Mr David Steel, the leader of the Liberal Party addressed a rally against the Corrie Bill.
Gallup for the World Federation or Doctors who Respect Life (published this week), seem to shom that a large majority. of people would prefer abortion to only be legal up to 20 weeks. It is some small consolation that the Sunday Times poll showed that social abortions, and abortions of convenience were not acceptable to the general
The Woman's Own survey (also conducted by Gallup) reported that only 20 per cent of Catholics interviewed, wanted the present Abortion Act amended.
Official, if somewhat reserved support, has come from both the Methodist and the Anglican churches in the past few days.
Mr Pat Welch, Vice President of the Methodist Conference said. "I would not necessarily want to label all abortion as 'evil', but 1 Yvould in the end come down on the Catholic side. _ "Their attitude is the most
costly — and it is terrible to tell someone else they must pay the cost — but it puts the higher value on life, and that gives the richer reward in the end.
The Church of England's Board for Social Responsibility said that the statement issucd by the Catholic Archbishops was a "careful and balanced statement of the, moral issues.but that under some circumstances, abortion may prove to be the lesser of two evils. for example when a mother's life is in danger.