Woe to Those Who Call Evil Good: A Pastoral Letter on the Decriminalisation of Abortion Law in Britain

Published on by TheOldRoman
Coat of arms featuring a shield with a fleur-de-lis and elements of ecclesiastical symbolism, inscribed with 'DEUS CARITAS EST'.

To the beloved faithful of Great Britain

Carissimi

On 17 June 2025, the British Parliament will vote on amendments that, if passed, would constitute the most radical expansion of abortion access in the nation’s history—legalising abortion up to birth for any reason, including the use of unsupervised abortion pills at home without medical oversight.

The principal amendment, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, seeks to remove all criminal penalties for women who procure abortions at any stage of pregnancy. Though marketed under the guise of “protecting women,” this measure would obliterate existing legal safeguards, including those which protect viable unborn children, deter sex-selective abortion, and prevent coerced terminations.

The Catholic Medical Association and hundreds of healthcare professionals have already warned Parliament that such changes would expose women to serious risks. Complication rates for late-term medical abortions are known to be over 160 times higher than those before 10 weeks’ gestation. Decriminalising abortion to birth opens the door to these dangerous procedures being conducted without medical supervision—and with no legal recourse for abuse, trafficking, or coercion¹.

Moreover, this amendment undermines the foundational principle of English law: that the unborn child possesses a modicum of legal recognition and protection. To remove all criminal sanction is to erase even this minimal acknowledgment of the unborn as a member of the human family.

Public Opinion Is Not With Them

Contrary to the claims of abortion lobbyists, polling conducted on behalf of SPUC in May 2025 indicates that:

  • Only 5% of Britons support legal abortion up to birth
  • 46% favour reducing the current 24-week limit
  • 62% support maintaining criminal law to protect the unborn
  • 53% oppose abortion when the child is capable of surviving outside the womb
  • 60% reject the idea of abortion on demand for any reason²

This is not a fringe view. It is a mainstream moral instinct—a desire to protect life and uphold medical responsibility, especially in the face of a culture that increasingly treats pregnancy as a liability and life as disposable.

A Call to Action

This is a defining moment for pro-life witness in the UK. I urge all Catholics and people of goodwill to do the following:

  1. Sign the petition hosted by SPUC and CitizenGO
  2. Contact your MP and express your opposition to the decriminalisation amendment
  3. Attend the demonstration in Westminster on Tuesday, 17 June, if at all possible
  4. Pray and offer penance for the conversion of our nation and its lawmakers

This is not merely a legal battle—it is a spiritual one. St. John Paul II reminded us that “a nation that kills its own children has no future.” Let us not remain silent as Parliament considers removing the final protections from the smallest and most vulnerable among us.

Let your voice be heard. Let your witness be seen. Let your prayers be offered. For if we do not defend life now, we shall answer for our silence before God.

I.X.

Signature of Jerome Seleisi in elegant script.

Brichtelmestunensis
Feria Sexta Quattuor Temporum Pentecostes MMXXV A.D.

¹ Open Letter from UK Healthcare Professionals to MPs opposing abortion decriminalisation, 2024.
² Polling conducted by Whitestone Insight on behalf of SPUC, May 2025.

Oremus

Deus, vitae auctor et custos animarum, qui omnes homines ad imaginem tuam creasti, et in utero matris eos sanctificare dignatus es, intuere propitius ad parvulos nondum natos, quos leges humanae ab omni tutela solvere conantur. Infunde timorem tuum in corda legislatorum, ut legem tuam super omnem consilium humanum agnoscant, et innocentes a morte tueantur. Beatae Mariae Virgini, Matri Vitae, nos committimus, ut per eius intercessionem natio nostra a caecitate cordis liberetur, et iterum legem vitae eligat. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

O God, Author of life and Guardian of souls, who created all people in Thine image and didst sanctify them in their mother’s womb, look with mercy upon the unborn children whom human laws now seek to cast off from all protection. Pour Thy holy fear into the hearts of lawmakers, that they may recognize Thy law above all human counsel, and defend the innocent from death. To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Life, we commend ourselves, that through her intercession our nation may be delivered from the blindness of heart, and choose again the law of life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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(©)The Titular Archbishop of Selsey 2012-2025. All Rights Reserved.

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