An English Catholic bishop has condemned the decision to force a young woman with the mental age of a child to have an abortion.
Mrs Justice Lieven at the Court of Protection gave the go-ahead for an NHS trust to carry out the abortion on the woman, in her 20s, even though the woman wanted to keep the baby. The woman lives with her mother, a Catholic, who had also indicated she was willing to look after the baby.
Speaking on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, Bishop John Sherrington, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, said the ruling was an infringement of the woman's human rights.
He said: "Every abortion is a tragedy. This tragedy is compounded in the case of the recent legal decision of the Court of Protection to rule that a mother, who is in her 20’s and has a ‘moderately severe’ learning disability and who wishes to keep her child at 22 weeks, must have an abortion.
"The natural birth of her child is supported by her mother who has said she will care for the child, her social worker, and her legal team.
"Forcing a woman to have an abortion against her will, and that of her close family, infringes her human rights, not to mention the right of her unborn child to life in a family that has committed to caring for this child. In a free society like ours there is a delicate balance between the rights of the individual and the powers of the state.
"This is a sad and distressing decision for the whole family whom we keep in our prayers. This case, for which all the information is not available, raises serious questions about the meaning of ‘best interests’ when a patient lacks mental capacity and is subject to the court’s decision against her will."
More than 68,000 people have signed a petition by Right to Life UK on CitizenGo, urging the health secretary to intervene. The petition states: "The Judge has basically stated that it is better for this woman to be forced to have a late-term abortion, than for to have her baby and have her own mother look after him/her.
"Her name, location, NHS trust and MP are unknown, so please sign this petition to the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, urging him to intervene in this case and do all within his power to prevent this gross overreach of the state.This is an utterly despicable decision which must be opposed.
"It is imperative that you sign this petition now. We do not know how long this woman and her baby have left before the State forces the mother to have an abortion."
Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said: "This is a horrific case of an unwanted, forced state intervention, ending the life of a baby without the mother’s consent. Counter to the ‘choice’ narrative of abortion advocates, the judgement in this case has ruled to the contrary. Forcing an abortion on a vulnerable woman is a violation of her own bodily autonomy and will inevitably cause her countless distress.
“A forced late-term abortion would end the life of the baby that has been growing inside her womb for almost six months. A baby at 22 weeks gestation is already fully developed and is able to survive outside the womb.
“Abortion is an irreversible decision that would end the life of the baby and is being used here as a discriminatory tool against the most vulnerable in our society. The overwhelming public outrage at this ruling should prompt the Government to act quickly to stop this forced abortion going ahead."
In a video posted on Twitter by March for Life UK, Bishop of Paisley John Keenan urges people to make their "strong objection" clear and sign the petition. He also appealed to the Health Secretary to intervene. "The decision is wrong on so many levels," he said. "It introduces a dangerous new development in the overreach of the power of the state over its citizens. It's a wrong decision that has to be changed, not just in the interests of this woman and her child, but in the interests of everyone who believes in choice for this country."
The Press Association reported last week that the woman's mother, a former midwife, was against abortion because of her Catholic faith and said she could care for the child and that a social worker who works with the woman said the pregnancy should continue.
Lawyers who represented the woman also said she should be allowed to give birth. But Mrs Justice Lieven said a balance of evidence showed that termination was the best option, PA reported.
The judge said some evidence in the case was "heartbreaking" and that the pregnant woman did not have the mental capacity to make the decision although evidence indicated that she wanted to keep the baby. "I am acutely conscious of the fact that for the State to order a woman to have a termination where it appears that she doesn't want it is an immense intrusion," said the judge in her ruling on Friday. "I have to operate in (her) best interests not on society's views of termination." The judge said the woman had no sense of what having a baby "meant" and added: "I think she would like to have a baby in the same way she would like to have a nice doll," according to PA.
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