Scottish Catholic Observer

Anthony Horan’s call follows statistics released by Worldometer, which found approximately 42.4 million abortions took place worldwide last year, comparing to 21.2 million deaths due to illness, including cancer.

Worldometer is an online resource that provides world statistics in real-time, including births, deaths, public expenditure and the number of road traffic accidents.

As the SCO went to press, it found this year already there had been over 2.5 million abortions worldwide as of January 22.

The figure suggests there are around 125,000 abortions a day across the globe.

‘Tragedy’

Mr Horan said: “The death of any child is a tragedy. It is a sad reflection on how uncaring and lacking in compassion our society is when the weakest, most defenceless human beings are permitted by the state to be killed in what should be the safest and most secure place for them: their mother’s womb.

“It is deeply regrettable that in the UK today, only one in 10 babies with Down’s Syndrome will be born; 90 per cent will be killed by abortion. But this is the price to be paid in a country where it is legal to terminate the life of a disabled child in the womb right up to term.”

Mr Horan maintained that, despite the statistics, ‘things can change,’ stating people of all faiths and none in the UK are pro-life.

Contribution

He said: “Our contribution might be simply leading a vibrant family life. We can also be more open about our pro-life values.

“Society has made it taboo to talk about life in the womb for fear of offence or for fear that we may be unable to back up our position if an argument ensues.

“These are legitimate concerns but we will never succeed in spreading the pro-life message and potentially save lives if we don’t share our beliefs. We must share the positive message about life otherwise that message will never be heard. It’s up to us.

“I would urge everyone to write today to their MSP and MP about abortion. Tell them that you are pro-life, that you value human life and that you want them to promote the value of all human life, including the unborn child.”

10-year-high

In 2018, the number of abortions in Scotland was 13,286—a 10-year high. The number of women who had more than one termination rose by 11 per cent compared with the previous year. 2019’s statistics for Scotland have currently not been revealed.

Mr Horan said if every SCO reader were to write to their elected representative on the issue, it would make a ‘big impact’ on future statistics in Scotland.

Michael Robinson, director of communications for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) Scotland, stated the figures are ‘very alarming’.

Mr Robinson stated that abortion pills are being ‘pushed worldwide for reasons that have nothing to do with women’s health,’ mostly for ‘the desire to make abortion as widely available as possible, and facilitating ‘DIY’ abortion.’

The pills have become widely available in the UK, and have been criticised by pro-life organisations for making abortion available at home, away from medical supervision.

‘DIY’

Mr Robinson said the pills are made to seem safe by researchers with ‘close links to the abortion industry’ when, in fact, they are ‘often harmful to women.’

Mr Robinson concluded: “Common side-effects, that are rarely spoken about, include vomiting, severe pain and excessive bleeding.

“A recent Swedish study of women who had an early medical abortion at home found hat 26 per cent of women bled for more than four weeks.

“These statistics show that women’s true health and well-being is being sacrificed at the altar of an extreme abortion ideology.

“It is therefore vital that Scottish Catholics support SPUC, as only when we work together can we build a pro-life tomorrow.”