Statement in response to abortion referendum in Ireland

David Smyth, public policy officer at the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland said:

"Today many will mourn the loss of a vital protection for women and their unborn children from the Irish constitution.

"There are very strong feelings on all sides and we want to commend all those who advocated for both lives during this long campaign. We also acknowledge that many well-intentioned people voted yes.

"In England and Wales, for every four children born alive, one has been aborted and 97 per cent of all abortions are physically healthy women aborting physically healthy babies. Unfortunately Ireland appears to be considering following down this path. We would urge caution and hope that legislators will consider the concerns of the hundreds of thousands of people who voted no and temper their plans towards much more modest reform. We hope that the devolved nature of this issue in Northern Ireland will be respected by both the British and Irish Governments.

"The referendum is over but the conversation on how to best support women and unborn children in pregnancy crisis is only just beginning. Now is the time for all sides to put as much resource as they put into their campaigns into services for pregnancy crisis and addressing the structural and systemic inequalities which lead women to believe that abortion is their only 'choice'.

"We live in a consumer culture where personal autonomy is often perceived to be the highest moral good. Abortion cuts to the heart of human identity, relationships and purpose and cannot be redefined as a private or amoral health care choice.

"Today we will continue to tell a better story than abortion, one that is more hopeful, creative and ultimately more human. We believe the local Church has a vital role to play in this as we live out the story of human dignity rooted in divine purposes."