Christians were among thousands of protestors who stood in a silent vigil in opposition to plans to liberalise abortion in Northern Ireland on Friday night.
Organisers put the crowd at 20,000 and said the scale of the turnout reflected the strength of opinion over the issue. Those gathered stood in silence for six minutes in reflection of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
Thousands gathered outside Stormont, seat of the Northern Ireland assembly, for the vigil on Friday night.
Sarah Crutchley, a spokesperson for NI Voiceless, the group which organised the event, said in a statement that the move to liberalise abortion laws did not reflect public opinion in Northern Ireland.
“The aims of the NI Voiceless event are clear; we the people of Northern Ireland, were not asked about this undemocratic change, it does not reflect public or political opinion here, so we could not sit back without being counted; and the unborn cannot speak in defence of their own right to life so we had to stand up for them.”
The protest comes after MPs based in London voted in July to permit abortion for any reason up until 24 weeks. The new law comes into effect if the Northern Ireland executive, which has been suspended since January, 2017, after Northern Ireland’s government collapsed, is not reinstated by 21st October.
Abortion is currently only legal in Northern Ireland in certain exceptional circumstances including if the life of the mother is in danger.
Crutchley said the issue was a “matter of life and death”.
“Together we can be a society where every human life is valued and no human death is chosen. It is heartening to know that so many in Northern Ireland care passionately about the value of human life and long to see society be life-affirming.”
