UNITED NATIONS AND EVIDENCE ON DEATHS DUE TO BACK-STREET ABORTION

Early day motion 2236, tabled 12 October 2011 by Fiona Bruce (Conservative). Signed by 9 members.

That this House regrets the abuse of UN funds in publishing the badly researched report of Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, demanding the end of all restrictions on access to abortion; notes that it misquotes international documents on human rights in one of its justifications, and highlights the spectre of back-street abortion deaths as the second; further notes that her document is aimed at forcing states with restrictive abortion laws to change, despite the fact that some provide first-hand evidence demonstrating the truth of statements from the late Dr Bernard Nathanson, who originally led the US abortion lobby and later told how they lied about back-street abortions (world-wide) to frighten politicians into legalising the practice; further notes that figures for Poland from the Council of Europe show that after the abortion law was tightened, maternal deaths dropped from 36 in 1994 to 23 in 2003 showing no increase in back-street operations; further notes that Chile shared this experience and that after tightening its law, maternal mortality dropped toits lowest in South America with the result that other countries in the region may follow its example; further notes that Ireland, which UN figures show has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates worldwide at one per 100,000, has also the most restrictive abortion law which provides the unborn child with complete protection compared toeight per 100,000 in the UK, which has extremely lax legislation; and calls on the Government to remonstrate with the UN for producing a document so lacking in scholarship.

Signatures by party: Conservative 3, DUP 3, Labour 2, Liberal Democrat 1.