Dr John Ling

It was very good to hear Dr John Ling speaking tonight at the chapel on bioethics and abortion. Embarrassingly, he had last been with us 22 years ago! He'll be 82 when he comes next if we don't get ourselves organised. To be fair, we have had others address the topic and similar ones. To hear a man with the material at his finger tips is a great privilege, however. He talked us through the principles (Man in God's image, human life beginning at conception, the sanctity of life, the duty to care for the weak) then the Parliamentary acts (1861, 1967, 1990 and the current bill before Parliament) and the frightening statistics (550 abortions a day in the UK alone). Practically he called for prayer, education, care, agitation and giving. He gave quite a challenge and I confess to feeling slightly uncomfortable with it. I was sorry we were under thirty present. A week tomorrow is the fortieth anniversary of the implementation of the 1967 Act. Some 6.7 million have died as a result. Many now want to go further. It is frightening.