Scottish Catholic Observer

The call comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, which takes place this week on October 27.

“50 years ago, few envisaged the possibility of that there would be almost 200,000 abortions in Great Britain in 2015,” said the archbishop in a joint statement with Cardinal Nichols of Westminster on behalf of the Catholic bishops of Scotland, England and Wales. “Every abortion in a tragedy and few consider that abortion is the desirable or best solution to a pregnancy, which may be challenging on account of many different factors.”

He said the ‘complex set of conditions’ surrounding pregnancy causing women to consider abortion ‘may limit the exercise of freedom and diminish moral culpability.’

“When abortion is the choice made by a woman, the unfailing mercy of God and the promise of forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation are always available,” he said. “There is always a way home to a deeper relationship with God and the Church, as recent Popes have emphasised, which can heal and bring peace.”

The archbishop also said how the bishops and many others have ‘spoken consistently in favour of the intrinsic value of human life and both the good of the child in the womb and the good of the mother,’ with the anniversary an ‘opportunity to lament the loss of life due to abortion and seek a change of minds and hearts about the good of the child in the womb and the care of mothers who are pregnant.’

The statement also present new challenges for the future, namely an understanding of the value of life in the womb, greater protection for unborn children with disabilities, a need for more education in ‘moral responsibility’ surrounding human sexuality and meaning of sexual expression in marriage.

He also thanked those who religious faiths and none who have ‘sought to protect unborn life and the life of the mother over the last 50 years.’