Statement on Rescues
The deliberate taking of innocent human life is always wrong. All civilised societies have understood and accepted this fundamental principle.
Human life normally begins at fertilisation when a sperm and egg come together to form a genetically unique, new individual. New human lives can also be generated when one embryo spontaneously splits to form two or more embryos, as occurs when identical twins or triplets are formed. Potentially, human lives can also be generated through various cloning techniques. By whatever process life is initiated, this is literally when each of our lives began.
Abortion involves the deliberate destruction of innocent, young human lives.
Abortion is therefore wrong.
Young human beings are just as deserving of care and protection as are all other human beings. Allowing the killing of human beings just because they are young can no more be justified than was allowing the killing of human beings just because they were black or because they were Jewish.
Clearly, unborn human beings cannot defend themselves from harm. Just as other defenceless human beings should be helped if their lives are about to be unjustifiably taken, so should unborn human beings also be helped.
In taking this action at the abortion clinic we are acting to help protect the lives of fellow human beings who are about to be killed. We are non-violently placing ourselves between the intended victims and the abortionists who would kill them. We will not evade our responsibility and simply stand aside and let the innocent be killed.
Genuine help is available to mothers who find themselves in difficulty because they are pregnant. Resorting to killing the child is both wrong and unnecessary.
All who value human life and who recognise the present terrible injustice that is occurring should join us, if possible, in protecting life. We have no right to claim to be a civilised society while we allow this destruction to continue.