Pope Francis met Tony Blair during a general audience in St Peter’s Square last week. Mr Blair, who became a Catholic after stepping down as prime minister, expressed his concern for minorities in the Middle East. The two leaders asked for each other’s prayers. The meeting took place on the day of the funeral of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who received Mr Blair into the Church.
Abortion clinics to be given Ofsted-style ratings
Pro-lifers have given a mixed response to a new “Ofsted-style” ratings system for abortion clinics. The tighter scrutiny follows reports of systematic failings at clinics run by Marie Stopes. Two years ago the abortion provider was forced to suspend operations at its clinic in Norwich, as well as abortions for under-age girls and vulnerable women, after inspections uncovered serious failings – including the bulk signing of consent forms, nurses not explaining the full consequences of abortions, and babies’ remains being left in bins. Last month the Care Quality Commission (CQC) released another report. It noted that over two months 373 women who had abortions at Marie Stopes clinics required further medical treatment and 11 were immediately transferred to hospital. Under the new system clinics will be rated as inadequate, requires improvement, good or outstanding. They will be required to display their rating prominently. Anne Scanlan, director of education for the charity Life, said the industry’s failings could “no longer be hidden in the shadows”. She said: “For too long vulnerable women have been taken advantage of … The new measures introduced by the Government go some way to providing greater scrutiny and accountability of clinics that have routinely twisted and abused the laws with impunity.” The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) also welcomed the extra scrutiny, saying it showed the Government has recognised people’s concerns. But it also said the idea of rating clinics as good or outstanding was “repellent” – and that failings at Marie Stopes were so severe that its licence should be revoked. Sally Bassett, Marie Stopes UK’s acting managing director, said the organisation had been “working hard to address the concerns” and that the CQC had “recognised the significant progress we have made”.
