Lawmakers defeat amendment to give bereavement certificates after abortion

An amendment to a bereavement bill from the Traditional Unionist Voices (TUV) party in Northern Ireland was defeated after it sought to make women who received abortions eligible for a baby loss certificate. It was labeled by opposing politicians as "callous."

Key Takeaways:

• Last year, the United Kingdom was approved to begin formally recognizing baby loss through miscarriage or stillbirth by issuing official certificates.

• Northern Ireland currently has no such program, but one is being considered.

• The TUV party sought to allow women who sought induced abortions to be eligible for the certificates.

• Opposing politicians slammed the effort and it was defeated in a recent vote.

The Details:

Northern Ireland is currently considering implementing a program allowing those experiencing stillbirth or miscarriage to receive a baby loss certificate, as the United Kingdom (UK) currently does. TUV member Timothy Gaston filed an amendment to allow the certificates to also be given to women who sought abortions. It almost immediately created controversy, yet Gaston defended the inclusion of abortion as an act of kindness:

The system must allow parents who lose a baby through termination to apply for a certificate if they want one. No certificate will be automatically issued, nobody will be forced to participate.

In Northern Ireland, a woman who miscarries at 20 weeks can apply for a certificate. A woman who has an abortion at 20 weeks — perhaps due to being told that her child will not survive outside the womb due to fatal foetal anomaly — should be able to do so as well. Additionally, those who have an abortion in some cases later deeply regret doing so. Giving them the option to apply for a baby loss certificate would help with the process of dealing with that. Denying women in either circumstance that option, or suggesting it’s wrong, is arbitrary cruelty.

My amendment removes the barrier. Importantly, it mirrors Scotland’s scheme which already includes medical terminations — without controversy, without compulsion.

While it is true that many post-abortive women do experience grief later, Gaston's amendment failed. Politician Kelly Armstrong, who has experienced 13 miscarriages, said Gaston's proposal was cruel.

"As a former bereavement counsellor, using the word 'abortion' to someone who has miscarried when it's on their medical records as a spontaneous abortion is incredibly callous and cruel," she said, adding that the language "on the face of the bill when it already covers all forms of loss is more of a political point scoring and harming women. I don't think that harming people like myself who find the use of the word 'abortion' connected to a very much loved baby that I wanted to have is fair."

Zoom Out:

Similar things have taken place in other countries, where parents who chose to abort their babies were grouped in with parents who have experienced unintentional loss. It was recently discovered that parents who chose abortion qualify for stillbirth payments in Australia, which can be as much as $22,754.

In Australia, the requirements for a baby to qualify as stillborn involve weight (at least 400 grams) or gestation (at least 20 weeks). Additionally, the baby must not have taken a breath or had a heartbeat following delivery. The mother must put in a claim for the payment within one year of the stillbirth. Therefore, parents who intentionally ended their babies' lives can technically qualify.

The Stillborn Baby Payment is $4,327, but that number skyrockets by nearly $20,000 if they also apply for Parental Leave Pay.

In other words, they are rewarded for deliberately having their child killed late in pregnancy.

The Bottom Line:

Killing is not health care, and the intentional, targeted taking of an innocent human life can never be the same thing as an accidental, natural death.