The issue of poor quality of life is often cited in the debate over abortion for disability and assisted dying.  Here is a young woman who is living proof of the importance of  positive support, both from her parents and from technology.

Well done to Joanne.  Last December  she persuaded the Irish Parliament to reverse a decision to reduce disability support for teenagers, now she is taking on the United Nations.  Her personal motto is ‘no limbs, no limit’.  We believe her.

The colloquium between these two experts, Dr Priscilla Coleman who is Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and Dr Patricia Casey who is Professor of Psychiatry at University College Dublin, was well attended by an audience comprised of medical academics and practitioners, together with many others involved in various aspects of crisis pregnancy and abortion, from both sides of the debate.

The attendance was much larger than expected and we apologise sincerely to those who had to stand.

We thank very sincerely the politicians who hosted the event, the Rt Hon Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr Stewart Jackson, and the many others who interrupted an extremely busy day in both Houses, in order to register their support, or did so by email.  We were pleased to greet in person Mrs Nadine Dorries, Mr Ian Paisley and Mr David Amess.

The ProLife Alliance extends thanks to colleagues from other pro-life groups who helped in the planning of the meeting, particularly Mrs Bernie Smyth from Precious Life NI, who brought personal good wishes from members of the DUP.  Christian Concern provided considerable practical help and advice.

A special thank you to Dr Peter Saunders, CEO of the Christian Medical Fellowship, who chaired the event with his usual gracious and competent expertise.

We acknowledge with particular gratitude the continued support and gracious presence at the meeting of Baroness Masham.  

In conclusion Baroness Knight addressed those present with a very moving message of encouragement, recollecting the 45 plus years she has been in Parliament, during which time she has spoken out fearlessly against the 1967 Abortion Act and its tragic aftermath.   We will shortly publish a reflection from her but in the meantime her message to those present on Tuesday was to ‘Hold firm and never give up.’

Professor Coleman will be in the McAuley Postgraduate Centre, Mater University Hospital, Dublin on Friday 9th March 4-6pm to give a further presentation.  This event is CME/CPD accredited.   

If anybody wishes to obtain the Powerpoint presentation from the meeting please get in touch with the ProLife Alliance.  Considerable material coordinated by Prof Coleman and others can be obtained on the WeCare website.  

The ProLife Alliance has always argued that sex-selection abortions under our current lax abortion practice would not be difficult to obtain, particularly in the first trimester, but this is conclusive evidence verified by powerful video footage. 

It is well known that vast majority of abortions (some 98%) are performed under Clause C in the Abortion Act for the mental health of the women, and there is of course no duty to record the sex of the aborted babies, so it has always been impossible to identify specific cases of social sex selective abortion.   Now we have the evidence and at last the true nature of the abortion industry in the United Kingdom is being exposed.

We are very pleased that the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, is taking this issue so seriously. News has just come in that the head of the Care Quality Commission, responsible for monitoring practices in abortion clinics, has resigned. Dr Sivarama, the Manchester obstetrician in the video, claims to be the only individual healthcare provider approved by the Care Quality Commission and the Department of Health to perform medical abortions at under nine weeks.

The reality about abortion in the UK is that it is virtually on demand and much as we are horrified about the nature of sex selective abortions, we should acknowledge the fact that every abortion takes the life of a baby, whether boy or girl.  In Sweden where abortion is on demand up to 18 weeks, they had to acknowledge that they could not legally prevent abortions of this nature.  If any reason is good enough to permit abortion, why not then for the wrong sex?

For further comment please contact 020 7581 6939 or email info@prolife.org.uk

He was a member of the ProLife Alliance right from its infancy, and he willingly funded the deposit of one of our candidates when we were registered as a political party.

His generous support continued throughout the years, not just financially but with cogent arguments and enthusiastic encouragement. He was a thoroughly likable man, whose presence at meetings was always a pleasure and of real assistance.

We have been asking members who knew him personally to reflect on their association with Tom, and everybody replies with the same enthusiasm, admiring not just his courteous manner but also his intellectual rigour and ceaseless engagement in the defence of human life. It was a rare month when a letter signed ‘Tom van der Linden’ did not appear in the press endorsing the issues he cared about so passionately.

Just weeks before he died, Tom rang the office to renew his membership, adding poignantly that he did not think he would bother with a bank standing order. That was the last time we heard from him, but it is typical of the Tom we knew and admired. He liked everything to be in order.

Those of us who share his religious beliefs are confident that he will continue to help us with his prayers in the next life. We extend our sympathy to his family, who had the enormous privilege of experiencing closely the example of a very good man.

For any who would like to do so, you may leave comments regarding Tom below.

Previously, this information had been readily available and the DoH was increasingly providing even greater detail in its annual abortion statistics, until one case for cleft palate abortion post 24 weeks became the focus of media interest and public outrage. Subsequently, yearly abortion statistics were published in reduced form.

It was this backtracking action on the part of the DoH which the PLA chose to react to, asking unsuccessfully for the missing information under the Freedom of Information Act. Eventually the PLA asked the Information Commissioner (IC) to intervene in the dispute and they successfully argued the case against the DoH in the Administrative Court this April.

Julia Millington, spokesperson for the ProLife Alliance says, this is a great victory for transparency and freedom of speech and we are delighted that full information about the justification for late abortions is now being made available in the same detail as it was in 2001.

The ProLife Alliance is opposed to all abortion at any stage in pregnancy, but terminating the lives of babies at gestational ages when they could survive is always particularly horrifying. We have always argued that if these abortions are permitted under law, there should be no attempt whatsoever to hide details of the numbers or justifications.

We take this opportunity to thank former MP Miss Ann Widdecombe and Prof Stuart Campbell, who gave expert evidence in the Tribunal Court on behalf of the ProLife Alliance.

In spite of the huge number who objected, BCAP has launched a new consultation dated 27.6.11 proposing to liberalise the rules for advertising post-conception services. The changes are:

- Removing the television rule preventing commercial services offering personal advice from advertising.

PLA says: This will have the effect of increasing the number of pregnancy advice services which will be allowed to advertise.

- Removing the radio rule permitting advertising only by those Family Planning Centres with local authority or NHS approval.

PLA says: As with the first change, this will open up advertising to a wider number of pro-choice organisations.

- Introducing a new rule applying to both television and radio requiring medical and health advice services to provide suitable credentials before being able to advertise.

PLA says: How likely is it that pro-life organisations will be accredited?

- Introducing a new rule to require services offering post-conception advice on pregnancy that do not directly refer women for a termination to make that fact clear in their advertisements.

PLA says: This is obviously directed at pro-life organisations who do not refer for abortion but offer serious pro-life alternatives and support to women

We urge you to submit to this consultation and register your complaints.

“Don’t publish photographs or suicide notes. Don’t report specific details of the method used. Don’t give simplistic reasons. Don’t glorify or sensationalize suicide. Refer to suicide as a completed suicide, not a successful one. Present only relevant data, on the inside pages. Highlight alternatives to suicide. Provide information on help lines and community resources. Publicize risk indicators and warning signs.”

The programme contained emotive music (a composer was named in the credits), beautiful Alpine scenery with only a passing mention that Dignitas had been banished to an industrial estate after previous neighbours complained, picturesque snow falling.

The documentary breached the BBC’s own guidelines which call for ‘great sensitivity’ about suicide: “Factual reporting and fictional portrayal of suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm have the potential to make such actions appear possible, and even appropriate, to the vulnerable.” It ignored, or did not care about, these well-known copycat suicide risks. It used words like “bravest”, “in the arms of his wife”, “he died singing” on the one side, and talked about unendurable suffering and “undignified ending” on the other. Even the taxi driver who had decided to go on living in a hospice was in favour of changing the law, though this is not at all representative of those in his condition. The whole programme was relentlessly pessimistic about the lives of those with debilitating conditions, which is as insulting to them as it is untruthful.

This was the fifth programme advertising suicide that the BBC has made recently: “I’ll Die When I Choose”, 8 December 2008; A Short Stay in Switzerland”, January 2009; “Shaking hands with death”, 1 February 2010; “Inside Out”, BBC West Midlands, 15 February 2010; these programmes are often shown more than once. Presenters consistently give a sympathetic platform to pro-suicide campaigners.

It was notable that the BBC, as the euthanasia activists want, used the term “assisted dying” instead of the accurate “suicide”. This reminds us of the Dutch habit of describing the unrequested intentional killing of patients, for which the ordinary word is “murder”, as “not necessarily voluntary end-of-life decisions”.

The other side of the picture was ignored. Where are the programmes showing the cogent arguments that have persuaded legislatures in the UK and internationally that the law cannot safely be changed? Where are the life-affirming stories of handicapped people who have battled suicidal thoughts and now live happy fulfilling lives? Recent research has shown that such stories have a positive influence.

This was a frightening programme for the vulnerable, and a shameful day for the BBC. Please complain via the BBC website, telephone BBC Audience Services on 03700 100 222 or write to BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Darlington, DL3 0UR.

The ProLife Alliance welcomes the promise that GPs and nurses will protect patients’ “independence, dignity and sense of personal control”, do their utmost to make patients’ remaining days comfortable, and see that they get “all the specialist care and emotional and spiritual support” needed.

Patients are to be encouraged to put their wishes in writing, a provision which will certainly be used by euthanasia campaigners to push them towards “living wills”, including “do not resuscitate” directions, which present several dangers. The recent case of Richard Rudd shows that no one can be sure how he or she will feel in the future. Neither can anyone allow for all possible eventualities or the advance of medical science. And in general the idea that some patients would be better off dead is the cornerstone of euthanasia.

Patients are invited to comment on the Charter and offer suggestions for improving it. The ProLife Alliance recommends a clear statement that no one’s life is futile and unworthy of protection, and that a request for help in committing suicide, or an attempt, should be regarded as an urgent call for better care, physically, mentally or spiritually.

We ask, who does the Advertising Standards Authority represent? Clearly it is not the viewing public.

Please see attached link to our previous comment after the original adjudication decision was released.