IN THE 1980s, as a pre-med student at Trinity College Dublin, I attended a lecture that I was reminded of this week. Ireland’s State Pathologist, Professor John Harbison, presented a video demonstrating how abortions are performed: limbs systematically dismembered, a human life methodically destroyed. A couple of students fainted at the horror. I remember thinking at the time how this is marketed as simple healthcare, like having your appendix removed. The brutal reality, concealed behind sanitised language and closed doors, underscores why Parliament’s vote this week is so unconscionable.
On Tuesday, MPs voted 379 to 137 to decriminalise abortion for women at any stage of pregnancy. On Friday, MPs voted 314 to 291 for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, to legalise assisted dying/suicide. In the span of one week, the Mother of Parliaments has chosen to normalise the act of ending life at both ends of the spectrum.
Yet, we’ve heard nothing so far from the leaders of the Church of England – not a sermon, nor a statement, nor even a post on X – on the legalising of abortion to term and very little on the assisted dying bill. In fact, the official Church of England ‘tweet of the day’ on Wednesday was merely a reminder that it is Refugee Week! The Church, once the moral conscience of the nation, seems to have gone missing just when Britain needs it the most. Just two of the Church of England’s 108 bishops had made any comment (at the time of writing) about the abortion vote. The bishops of Oswestry and Fulham alone have released a statement via the new Anglican4Life Society, expressing ‘grave concern’ with this week’s abortion vote and lamenting that ‘respect for the God-given dignity of every human life is being eroded.’
The Antoniazzi amendment, which passed with a huge majority of 242 votes, eliminates all criminal penalties for women seeking abortions at any stage of pregnancy. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi argues that it safeguards vulnerable women, referencing tragic cases such as Nicola Packer, who was arrested following a stillbirth at 26 weeks. However, protecting women does not necessitate permitting unrestricted harm to the unborn.
Make no mistake about what Parliament has sanctioned. While 99 per cent of abortions occur before 20 weeks, this law eliminates any restrictions on late-term procedures that involve dismembering viable babies capable of surviving outside the womb. The brutality I witnessed in that Dublin lecture theatre is now legally protected at any stage of pregnancy.
I find this situation quite unbelievable.
This vote, a so-called ‘free conscience vote’, saw 379 MPs endorse a law that contradicts every principle upon which our Christian civilisation was founded. Labour, Liberal Democrat, and even eight Conservative MPs, including the Shadow Education Secretary, lined up to support what previous generations would have recognised as infanticide.
How did we arrive at this point? How did a Parliament that begins each day with prayers, that employs official chaplains, and that operates ‘by the grace of God’, vote to normalise the very culture of death that Christianity has consistently opposed?
Where is Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, currently serving as the stand-in for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who himself had to retire in disgrace? Where are the 26 Lords Spiritual, who hold privileged seats in our legislature specifically to provide moral and spiritual guidance?
Nowhere to be heard.
This silence is particularly galling when contrasted with their vocal activism on other progressive causes. Climate change, inequality, and refugees – on these issues, Anglican bishops eagerly take to microphones and op-ed pages. However, when confronted with legislation that would legalise the dismemberment of unborn children, they become inexplicably silent.
The Lords Spiritual will have the opportunity to speak when these bills reach the upper chamber. However, many more individual bishops could have spoken out already. Just two have. They could have used their platforms, their pulpits, and their privileged positions to advocate for the most vulnerable members of our society. Instead, they have opted for silence.
This silence reveals something deeper than mere political cowardice; it exposes a senior Church leadership that has lost its way. Today’s Anglican leaders, exemplified by former Archbishop Welby, represent a managerial class more concerned with maintaining respectability than with defending the truth. They have conflated being ‘relevant’ with being faithful, trading prophetic witness for political correctness.
When your church sounds indistinguishable from a progressive NGO, why should anyone take it seriously?
The good news is that this strategically misguided vote may lead to unintended consequences. It has awakened a pro-life movement in Britain that was previously fairly low key, now energised by the sheer extremism of what Parliament has endorsed.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children reports unprecedented engagement following Tuesday’s vote. Vigils are emerging from Birmingham to Brighton, with young Catholics and evangelicals spearheading prayer campaigns outside Parliament. Social media is buzzing with outrage, as individuals, thankfully including many clergy, question how a ‘civilised’ nation can choose to protect the killing of viable babies.
This represents new territory for British politics. Unlike the United States, where the pro-life movement has deep roots and institutional support, Britain has long maintained a settled consensus around limited access to abortion. Parliament’s extreme overreach has shattered that consensus, creating an opportunity for a much more robust defence of life.
The bishops’ silence has not hindered this awakening; rather, it has catalysed it. When the official church leadership abdicates its moral responsibility, ordinary believers and pastors step forward to fill the void.
The silence of the Church of England leadership and the shame of Parliament serve as a clarion call for every Christian who still believes in the importance of defending innocent life. If our bishops will not speak out, then fathers, mothers, and young people must raise their voices even louder.
The 26 Lords Spiritual must reclaim their voice when these bills reach the House of Lords. Their privileged position carries a sacred responsibility.
The truth is harsh, as I learned in that Dublin lecture theatre decades ago. However, our resolve must be stronger than our revulsion. We cannot permit a Parliament devoid of Christian conscience to normalise the culture of death while the Church, which should oppose it, remains silent.
