Everything You Need to Know about Wednesday’s Abortion Debate

On Wednesday evening, the Libertarian Society at King’s has organised a debate on the A-Word: Abortion. The debate, chaired by Danny Al-Khafaji of the Libertarian Society, is set to be a contested one, that hopes to bring clarity towards such an active part of women’s health.

The debate starts at 6.30 pm and will be hosted on the Strand campus. The Libertarian Society aims to inform the audience about abortion, a highly controversial and important topic, by bringing together both sides of the debate.

Debating on behalf of the Pro-Choice advocates is Ann Furedi, the Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Centre, the UK’s largest abortion provider.

The Pro-Life side will be represented by Anne Scanalan, the Director of Education & Media at the Life Charity, one of the most important pro-life UK organisations. Ms. Scanalan is also the head of the “Life Matters” campaign, advancing this cause.

In conversation with Roar, Al-Khafaji stated that this debate is motivated by the fact that the abortion conversation is “too often pushed to the sidelines at risk of offending people”. He hopes this event will “expose both sides of the abortion debate and let the audience decipher where they stand on the issue”.

The question also arose as to why it is that a male will be chairing this week’s debate. Al-Khafaji replied, saying, “The gender of the chair is irrelevant to the context of the arguments that both speakers will espouse and that will be the core of the event”,

Whilst Northern Ireland still upholds strict abortion laws, the Republic of Ireland recently repealed its 8^th Amendment, dismantling the abortion ban.

Studies show that 1 in 3 women in the UK will have an abortion at some point in her life. In this context, this debate is a vital conversation.

Free seated tickets for the debate are still available to purchase through the event’s Facebook page.