(LifeSiteNews) – Lawmakers in Northern Ireland rejected an amendment that would have made prenatal deaths due to abortion eligible for bereavement certificates, which supporters said would extend recognition of the sanctity of life and opponents decried as callous.
The BBC reported that the Legislative Assembly voted 53-23 against MLA Timothy Gaston’s proposed amendment to a proposed program that would allow women suffering from miscarriage or stillbirth to apply for a certificate formally recognizing the loss of their baby. Gatson’s amendment would have extended the program to those regretting an abortion.
Certificates would only be sent upon request, yet opponents such as MLA Kelly Armstrong (who herself has suffered 13 miscarriages) argued that “using the word abortion to someone who has miscarried when it’s on their medical records as a spontaneous abortion is incredibly callous and cruel,” and claimed “all forms of loss” would already be covered by the base program.
Opposition MLA Matthew O’Toole also said the base bill was sufficiently “inclusive,” as it did not explicitly exclude post-abortive women from applying.
“It is important that those that have had an abortion, in some cases later on they deeply regret doing so — giving them the option to apply for a baby loss certificate would help the process of dealing with that loss,” Gaston said in defense of his proposal. “Denying women in either circumstance that option or suggesting it is wrong — that indeed to me is cruel.”
In 2019, Northern Ireland’s abortion prohibitions in its Offences Against the Person Act were repealed. Now, abortion is allowed up to 12 weeks for any reason and after that under certain circumstances such as severe fetal abnormalities.
