NEWS | Sunday, 15 July 2007

Support for Gift of Life proposal in decline

According to statistics released by Gift of Life, popular support for its own Constitutional amendment proposal appears to be declining at an estimated rate of one per cent a year.
Gift of Life, a voluntary organisation of lay professionals who “share a common concern about abortion”, is currently campaigning to amend the Constitution to grant full human rights to the unborn child from the moment of conception. The proposal enjoys the backing of conservative elements within government, but has been criticised by liberals as undemocratic and scientifically unsound.
Separate surveys carried out over the past three years, published on Gift of Life’s own website, indicate that popular enthusiasm for the proposal is slowly on the wane.
“Scientific research carried out by Informa Consultants in December 2006 continued to confirm (sic) that 85 per cent of the population are in favour of a constitutional amendment to provide the unborn child with the clear right to life,” Gift of Life announced. “Previous research carried out by Gift of Life in 2005 showed an approval rating of 86 per cent in favour and other research carried out by Xarabank reported an 87 per cent majority that back this amendment.”
Projections based on the above statistics suggest that by 2026, the amendment may no longer enjoy the necessary backing of two-thirds of the electorate.
This revelation also coincides with the announcement that Green Party leader Dr Harry Vassallo has withdrawn his support for the proposal, suggesting that the “wide consensus” originally claimed by Gift of Life is gradually eroding.