Archbishop of Canterbury issues veiled attack on abortion

Dr Rowan Williams used his Christmas address to insist on the sanctity of life from conception until natural death

Unborn babies should be regarded as equal ‘members of the human family’, the Archbishop of Canterbury said on on 16 December.

‘This is why we cannot regard unborn children as less than members of the human family, why those with disabilities or deprivations have no less claim upon us than anyone else,’ he told 70millions Anglicans around the world.

The remarks were the first public comment on abortion by Dr Williams since a year ago, when he complained it was increasingly seen as an easy option, the Daily Mail reports.

In further topical remarks, he seemed to criticise the idea of euthanasia.

He said Christians should ‘try to make loving sense of human life even when it is near its end and we can hardly see any signs left of freedom or thought’.

He also addressed the credit crunch, suggesting children need particular protection.

‘We all suspect that in a time of economic crisis worldwide, it will be the most vulnerable who are left to carry most of the human cost,’ he said

Unborn babies are ‘part of the family’, says Archbishop of Canterbury. Daily Mail, 16 December 2008