The Northern Executive of the Methodist Church in Ireland's Council on Social Responsibility has issued the following statement:

"The Methodist Church in Ireland has long recognised that there are very limited and rare circumstances in which the termination of a pregnancy might be morally permissible and that women in such a situation should be treated with great care and compassion.

Like all our sister churches we greatly lamented the introduction from Westminster, over the heads of our devolved democracy, possibly the most liberal abortion legislation in Europe.

We are not surprised that the Department of Health here have been reluctant to commission services in line with this liberal abortion legislation imposed upon Northern Ireland without local due process and political consensus.

We understand the Secretary of State’s frustration with the lack of an Executive at the moment but we implore him to tread carefully and slowly and not to add unnecessarily to the democratic deficit that this sensitive issue already highlights."

ENDS

Issued by:

Rev. Roy Cooper (07710 945104)
Press Officer

24/10/2022