Amidst the non-story that was the cabinet reshuffle yesterday, there is one appointment that has fully triggered the liberal media – the appointment of Maria Caulfield as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and all because she does not subscribe to their anti-life agenda.
You may not have heard of Maria Caulfield and if you live outside Lewes in East Sussex (where her seat is), you could be forgiven for not knowing much about her. Until yesterday afternoon, Mrs Caulfield was a backbench Conservative MP whose only real noticeable feat in Parliament was to wind up the pro-abortion lobby last year when she led the opposition to a bill that sought to completely liberalise abortion and widen access to it. When she was appointed Vice Chairman for women yesterday, the same abortion campaigners (ably assisted by the liberal media establishment) lept to action to demonise and cast her as completely unsuited to the role based on her views on one single issue. The headlines screamed out from just about every major liberal publication: “Theresa May blasted after appointing anti-abortion MP Maria Caulfield as new vice-chair for women” – The Sun, “Why Has Theresa May Appointed A Vice Chair Who Doesn’t Trust Women To Make Their Own Decisions On Abortion?” – Huff Post, “Maria Caulfield: MP’s new women’s role sparks backlash” – BBC, “The Conservatives’ New Vice Chair For Women Wants Abortion To Remain A Criminal Act ” – Buzzfeed, Cabinet reshuffle: Abortion rights activists ‘appalled’ as May appoints pro-life Maria Caulfield to women’s role” – Evening Standard, “Maria Caulfield: Abortion rights campaigners condemn appointment of pro-life MP as Tory vice chair for women” – Independent and on they went.
The problem with each of these articles is that they are almost exclusively pro-abortion. They seek to paint her in a negative light by saying that her appointment spawned ‘controversy’ when it “emerged” she had spoken out against a bill to liberalise abortion laws last year, said as if the bill and accompanying debate were some sort of secret meeting never mind the widespread media coverage at the time and live TV coverage. Only the Evening Standard report includes a quote from a pro life organisation, although the BBC generously included a couple of supportive tweets from fellow MP Nadine Dorries, thus fulfilling their ‘impartiality’ committent) on her appointment and so most the articles fail to even have much of a semblance of balance. Not one of the articles makes any reference to the various polls showing extremely low support for further liberalisation of abortion laws and high support for lowering the current abortion time limit. Of course, if she had been a pro-abortion campaigner, the same folk writing these articles would have been singing her praises as a ‘champion’ of women’s rights, but According to Sophie Walker, the leader of the Women’s Equality Party, Mrs Caulfield’s difference of opinion on abortion means she “can never advocate effectively for us.” These attacks seek to characterise Mrs Caulfield as ‘anti-women’ and so totally unqualified for the role of Vice Chairman for women (or perhaps any public office role). It is only because Maria Caulfield does not sing from the same hymn-sheet as the pro-abortion lobby that she finds herself on the end of such vicious personal attacks.
The pro-abortion lobby has been working overtime recently to try and extinguish a growing public awareness of the disgraceful realities of abortion. Marie Stopes have promotional videos making abortion out to be as simple as any other basic medical procedure. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (who seem to almost exclusively advise to abort babies) has led the charge today against Maria Caulfield. Campaigns to completely decriminalise abortion and liberalise existing laws are centred around the false idea that women are being imprisoned at present for having abortions. The fact that the abortion lobby is so triggered by this appointment shows they are worried. They are worried that the truth about abortion will get out and that is why they seek to shut down any debate around it and certainly wont allow any pro-life politicians to quietly step into new jobs without any protest.
A Worrying Trend of Intolerance
The reaction to Caulfield’s appointment is the latest in a worrying trend that has been developing over the last few years in British politics that is fuelled in the most part by social media and egged on by noisy cheerleaders in the media and it is this: Anyone who fails to subscribe to the liberal agenda is manifestly unsuited to public office (especially if they dare express their personal views in the open), all because of a difference of opinion. Differing opinions, it has been decided are outdated, bigoted and in this case “anti women” and so they have no place in public life. In a rather tragic turn of events, the tolerance of the ‘tolerant’ liberal media and elites has been found to be a total sham for it is the ones preaching tolerance who turn out to be utterly intolerant of anything outside their own narrow mindset.
Tim Farron found this when leader of the Liberal Democrats. When he resigned last year he said it had become impossible for a Christian to continue being a Christian and be a political party leader because of the pressures to adopt the secular agenda. He sadly found out the hard way that if you compromise to the liberal standards it wont make the attacks go away, it just makes them worse.
The Call to Action
We must pray for people like Maria Caulfield. We need to pray that she has strength to carry on regardless of the vicious attacks directed towards her. That the attacks will come to nothing and that she will have wisdom in how to tread the minefield of abortion and ‘women’s rights issues’. We must also pray that God will raise up other men and women of faith who are fearless against the rising tide of evil in society and who are more concerned with the approval of God than the approval of man.
The attacks against those who hold to gospel truth in public life will continue to grow and they will continue to get more vicious and certainly more personal. The liberal media and their lapdogs will always be outraged by people being in public office who have differing views (particularly on issues that have a spiritual dimension like abortion). However, if we are going to bring about social change and begin to move away from the culture of death in this nation then we are going to need to take a stand for truth regardless of the personal cost to us and part of that is supporting those in public office like Maria Caulfield who are seeking to do just that.
Over the last 50 years, nearly 9 million unborn babies have been killed. Most of the public are not aware of the reality of abortion, both the procedure itself and the long lasting emotional effects on women. Those of us who know the truth have a duty therefore to speak up for life, to be a voice for the unborn child and to push back against the culture of death that is having such a corrosive effect on society.
If you want to find out more about the reality of abortion, or want to learn more about taking a stand for life, then visit Abort67.co.uk
