Member

Amendment 456C sets out the circumstances that could be regarded as sufficiently compelling as to justify a late-term abortion. There may be other circumstances that this Committee might identify as proper reasons for a late-term abortion and, if identified, they could be added as additional statutory defences. But we must keep in mind that Parliament has a duty of care to an unborn child who is capable of being born alive. It is an obligation that reflects the value that all of us should place on human life. The life of an unborn child close to the moment of birth should be extinguished only in the most compelling of circumstances. Clause 191, if unamended, flouts that totally. Without amendment, it should not be enacted.