Mears supports pro-life prize

A STUDENT essay competition run by an anti-abortion lawyers group is to receive the Law Society president's endorsement.

Martin Mears has promised to give his public support to the annual competition run by the Association of Lawyers for the Defence of the Unborn.

But he has pledged not to turn the highly controversial anti-abortion issue into a presidential crusade.

"It is an issue I feel strongly about, but it is not an issue I will be pursuing at the moment. The profession wants me to pursue its own issues," he said.

Mears is a founding member of the anti-abortion group and spoke at a recent meeting at Chancery Lane.

The association claims 157,846 children were "killed" in England and Wales in 1993 some time between their conception and birth "supposedly under the umbrella of the Abortion Act 1967".

"We recognise abortion as a symptom, albeit of a particularly virulent and vile system, of a deeper malaise, where sexuality is misused and treated irresponsibly," it says.

Association chair Robin Haig said Mears had offered to mention the essay competition on the subject 'Abortion is a woman's right' in his presidential column in the Law Society's journal, The Gazette.

But Haig stressed the group would be putting no pressure whatsoever on the president to use his position to advance its case.

The competition is open to law students and offers a cash prize of £250.