ANTI-ABORTION republican party Aontú is holding a public meeting tonight its reinforce its opposition to the law on terminations being liberalised next week.
The event, which will take place in Armagh, is one of a series of meetings the party has held across the north and coincides with calls by the DUP to recall Stormont to block landmark changes to the north's strict abortion laws.
Unless devolution is restored by 21 October, the decriminalisation of abortion will take place while same-sex marriage will also be legalised.
Aontú party leader Peadar Tóibín, who left Sinn Féin in a row over its abortion stance, said the north is "standing on the precipice for a fundamental human rights issue".
"We stand on the precipice of a section of humanity being deemed not adequately human and therefore not deserving of the most basic human right, the right to life," he said.
But Amnesty International, which has been campaigning for the relaxation of abortion laws and successfully represented Sarah Ewart in a legal challenge over existing legislation breaching human rights laws, yesterday said it was wrong to use women's rights as a "bargaining chip" to restore devolution.
"In less than a week it will be the beginning of the end of the discrimination, inequality and harm caused by current abortion law," Grainne Teggart of Amnesty said.
"Finally, we are getting to a place where we will have a compassionate response to crisis pregnancy and where women will be safe as they will be able to access vital care from doctors and other health professionals.
"There must be no return to Stormont before October 21 without abortion reform agreed on exactly the same terms as has been secured at Westminster.
"These rights have been long and hard fought for and we will not accept these being sacrificed for political expediency."
Meanwhile, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (RPCI) has also issued a statement on how it "deplores" the planned changes to the law and has lobbied political parties urging them to return to Stormont.
"These amendments directly contradict the Word of God, which makes clear that marriage is between one man and one woman for life, and that humanlife and personhood begin at the moment of conception," the church leaders said.
They criticised Sinn Féin for "failing" to meet with them when the leaders of the other main parties had taken up the offer.
However, a Sinn Féin spokesman yesterday told the Irish News that the RPCI request is "being processed".
"Sinn Féin is currently in a round of meetings with other church leaders and civic leaders on this issue," he added.
Meanwhile, a Christian rights group has sought legal opinion on the planned changes, which they say have "flaws".
The Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) said it had received a response from the Department of Justice through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request which "recognised obvious difficulties" in the 'interim' period between next week and and the end of March 2020 when the new regulations are expected to be introduced.
"The only way that this deeply flawed new regime can be stopped is if our political leaders find a way to do a deal, so the Assembly and Executive are restored," a spokesman said.
