Since its birth in 1996 the ProLife Alliance has always been and remains one of the strongest political campaign groups working in the United Kingdom in defence of the life of the unborn child.

We are proud to have created working alliances with other groups and would like to celebrate with our supporters and colleagues the success of our agreed strategy in Parliament during the passage of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill. There is nothing to celebrate about in the Bill itself; it is a shameful, shoddy piece of legislation, one of the worst ever to be endorsed by Parliamentary majority.

But during the dreadful transit of this Bill, we have sharpened our political teeth, increased our support groups and made great new allies.

In particular we draw attention to the magnificent alliance of pro-life groups in Northern Ireland who showed such powerful and effective solidarity as attempts were made to force abortion on them against the will of the majority. It is a magnificent example of how much can be achieved when pro-life groups work together.

It can now rightly be claimed that the pro-abortion movement has been out-manoeuvred, and is as well seriously out of touch with the mood of the country.

The intentions of the pro-abortion alliance were not difficult to decipher. Their campaign group, Voice for Choice (bpas, Maries Stopes, Brook, ARC, Abortion Rights, Education for Choice, Reproductive Health Matters, fpa, Pro-Choice Forum, and Doctors for a Woman’s Choice on Abortion), has always expressed clearly over the last years what they intended to achieve during the passage of the HF&E Bill.

Top of their list of campaign objectives was clearly the extension of abortion to Northern Ireland, closely followed by abolishing the need for two doctors, allowing nurses to perform abortions, extending the locations where abortions can be performed, clarifying the limits of conscientious objection.

Their Parliamentary allies, principally the All Party Pro-choice & Sexual Health Group, are well known. No great revelation to find that the ubiquitous Evan Harris is a member, as is John Bercow, Emily Thornberry, Chris McCafferty. With the Government increasingly sub-contracting abortion provision to the likes of bpas and Maries Stopes, nor is it surprising that Voice for Choice were so complacent in planning their Parliamentary campaign. But they got it wrong. Evan Harris is not often wrong-footed but this time, to our great delight, he fell flat on his face.

Their game plan failed. Voice for Choice had not reckoned on the impact of Northern Ireland’s opposition to abortion, or the vulnerability of the Prime Minister in Scottish by-elections. They underestimated the strategy of the Alive & Kicking group and its various members which of course includes the ProLife Alliance.

It was a categorical inevitability that the pro-choice movement would table their amendments sooner or later, and we lobbied intensively to ensure that the first move came from our side, not theirs. We showed that we were not afraid. It is the strong who lead, and the weaker who follow. We showed our strength. But we certainly did not reveal our cards in advance. We took them by surprise.

Although the pro-life amendments were not successful, it is great credit to those in both Houses who argued in defence of the life of the unborn child that important points were raised and aired, and powerful speeches were delivered. It is too long since we have had the opportunity to raise our voices against abortion in the Houses of Westminster. All praise to those who spoke out so loudly.

Baroness Masham’s courageous Amendment in the Lords against abortion for disability is to be cherished, as were the many speeches which focused in detail on the cruel reality of this practice. The fearless Nadine Dorries in the Commons addressed the reform of abortion time limits, and drew attention to survival rates and fetal pain with the current 24 week limit in place.

The pro-choice MPs attempted to rebutt the arguments but they still held back from playing their own cards. Only at the last moment did they lay their predictable amendments, but in the hastiness of the closing moments of the Bill, with a vulnerable Government in economic crisis mood, none of these was going to be heard. They were relegated to inevitable silence at the bottom of the list and that was the end of the Voice for Choice campaign!

Not surprisingly, especially given their cosy relationship with key players in the Department of Health, they are very disconcerted by this outcome. Ann Furedi, the director of bpas, a charity which carries out a staggering number of 55,000 abortions each year (paid for by the taxpayer, a figure which demonstrates zero democratic oversight) and has ambitions to carry out even more, criticises the lack of debate on abortion in her article, but when has she ever been in favour of a democratic debate on abortion that would limit the number of abortions?

It is very sad indeed that the pro-life arguments were not successful, but we can certainly claim a strategic victory. On abortion, the pro-life message dominated the debate. Our voice was not silenced.

Now is the time to look forward, time to implement our longer-term strategies. Parliament is not the only battleground.

* The original Human Fertilisation & Embryology Act of 1990 included Abortion Amendments in its remit, and this Act has just been the subject of Review, with a revised Bill due to pass into legislation shortly. Pro-life Members of the Lords and the Commons attempted to bring about restrictive changes to abortion provision in the UK during the passage of the new HFE Bill, but their amendments were either not called or outvoted.

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