New UK Health Chief, a Practicing Catholic, Under Fire for Pro-Life Views

Catholic News Agency ^ | 9/7/22 | Madeleine Teahan

[marshmallow]

CNA Newsroom, Sep 7, 2022 / 09:02 am A Catholic Member of Parliament who was appointed yesterday to the role of Health Secretary in the UK has come under fire for her pro-life views.

Following the announcement that Liz Truss, the previous Foreign Secretary, was to replace Boris Johnson as the UK’s new Prime Minister, it was later announced that Therese Coffey had accepted the new role of Health Secretary, prompting scrutiny from some quarters about the influence of her Catholic faith.

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, told the BBC that she was deeply concerned about the appointment, given that Coffey recently voted against making at-home abortion pills permanently available to women in England and Wales.

She said that Coffey’s vote went “against the advice of leading medical bodies including Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and the BMA.” She added: “To have a health secretary who would place their personal beliefs above expert clinical guidance is deeply concerning."

But Coffey has already made clear that she does not intend to change the law relating to abortion.

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, she said, “I’m not seeking to undo any aspects of abortion law” on the grounds that she was “a complete democrat” and Parliament had already voted on different aspects of abortion law.

Coffey has previously said that she would "prefer that people didn't have abortions but I am not going to condemn people that do."

Therese Coffey previously served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2019 to 2022 and has long described herself as a practicing Catholic.

[Theophilous Meatyard III]

Life is good, until you are forced to die.

[fidelis]

Coffey has previously said that she would "prefer that people didn't have abortions but I am not going to condemn people that do."

The old “personally opposed, but...” cop-out. Another CINO that will fit right in with the baby-killing bureaucracy. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along...