Scottish Catholic Observer

The Fourth International Youth Pro-Life Conference is fast approaching but there is still time for delegates to register. Events at begin at Loch Lomond Youth Hostel on Friday March 18 and will run until Sunday March 20. Catering specifically to young pro-lifers, there is no other conference like this in the UK. Whether a seasoned pro-life campaigner or simply someone wishing to know more about pro-life issues, this is a conference should not be missed.

An expert line-up of speakers will assemble to portray the reality of the abortion and related issues. John Deighan, parliamentary officer for the Catholic Church in Scotland, will examine the right to life as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights. He will illustrate how the right to life has been ignored in court decisions to further the pro-abortion lobby and misapplied so as to ensure unborn children are not offered legal protection. Lynn Murray will examine attitudes towards disability, particularly Downs syndrome, and explore how abortion is promoted as the ‘cure’ to such conditions.

On the Saturday afternoon the conference will explore at the impact of abortion from different perspectives. Firstly, Anthony Ozimic, communications manager for SPUC, will speak on the impact that abortion has on the lives of the abortionists. Very often, it can be forgotten that abortion not only kills children and harms women, but does a great deal of damage to those who carry out the act as well. Sr Andrea Fraile from the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative will speak on the damage that abortion does to women. She will be discussing the Rachel’s Vineyard programme that offers spiritual healing to post-abortive women. This has been running successfully in America and has recently been introduced into Scotland. Finally, Andy Pollard will present his original research on the impact that abortion has had on society. He has studied population trends for many years and will explain that Europe is a demographic time-bomb, because so many children are missing.

Tying all these topics together will be keynote speaker Fr John Fleming. A world-renowned bioethicist, Fr Fleming has since 1996 been a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. His final stop on a two-week speaking tour of the UK, Fr Fleming will deliver his presentation The Practice of Eugenics Today. It will explore how the ghosts of eugenics from 1930’s Nazi Germany are very much alive today but are practised in much more subtle ways; through abortion, embryo experimentation and euthanasia.

As is tradition with the International Youth Pro-Life Conference, there also be time for relaxation. The film on Friday night before the Saturday programme with introduce the theme No Less Human. On Saturday, a traditional Scottish ceilidh will show all those travelling from further afield how Scottish pro-lifers like to enjoy themselves.

After Mass on Sunday morning, the conference will move onto pro-life activism, particularly the work of SPUC, both in Scotland and internationally. SPUC are on the frontline in the battle to defend human life, so it is essential that young people are made aware of the unique position that SPUC has and of what they can do to get involved in the pro-life movement: the greatest civil rights movement of our generation.

Designed to encourage and educate, the youth conference is vital for the continued success of the pro-life movement. It will inform and help young pro-lifers on a range of topics, including on how to spot the misinformation that plagues mainstream coverage of pro-life issues, in particular, abortion. This need was highlighted by the recent publication of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ draft guidelines on the care of women in the provision of abortion. In these guidelines, the bold claim was made that only a tiny minority of women suffer psychological harm after an abortion. This statement is at best is misinformed.

—The cost of the Fourth International Youth Pro-Life Conference conference is £80.00 per person, which includes two nights’ accommodation and meals. Alternatively, delegates can come on the Saturday for £25.00. To see more details about the conference, log onto http://www.spucconference.org.uk and join our Facebook group Pro-Life Revolution. Register online or by contacting Joe Lee on 0141 221 2094 or e-mailing [email protected].