by Lee Gatiss, Premier Christianity
The official Church of England response to decriminalising abortion up to birth was unforgivable, says Lee Gatiss. It’s not a “worrying” change, it’s wrong – and its time Christian leaders said so
The Church of England lectionary told me to read Psalm 14 yesterday morning. It says that people who say: “there is no God” are not just lovely, quiet atheists, but “corrupt.” They do “abominable deeds”, it says.
John Calvin commented that the psalmist here “groans and feels deep distress at the disorder which he beholds” in a world ruled by secular atheism. Many of us have felt like that, especially after the passage of the latest Crime and Policing Bill through the House of Commons – and particularly the part which would now allow abortion up until birth without any sanctions for the mother.
A wrong is a wrong
We all understand that a woman who, for example, chooses to end the life of her unborn child the day before it is due to be born is probably not in a good place mentally. She needs help. She needs looking after. Society has failed in so many ways to allow this situation.
But if she does take this decision, let’s not beat around the bush: she has done something wrong. You may be offended by the starkness of my moral judgment here. But I am horrified that so many people in our Parliament don’t see this as wrong.
Surely the CofE could – and should – take a clear, strong moral lead on this?