Pro-life groups have welcomed the decision of the Court of Appeal overturning a mandatory abortion for a woman with a “moderately severe” learning disorder.
In a statement released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Bishop John Sherrington welcomed the ruling and said “It is both astonishing and shocking that the NHS should seek to end a healthy pregnancy against the wishes of the pregnant woman, her mother, and her social worker.”
“Forcing a woman to have an abortion against her will, and that of her close family, would have infringed her human rights, and 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 and the initial ruling upset that balance. I am therefore pleased that the recent ruling has taken the woman’s best interests into account and has upheld her rights in this case.
