PHYLLIS BOWMAN...

...a brave woman and an inspiration to a generation, a leader in the fight to defend unborn children,has died. May God reward her for her dedication to a noble cause and for the leadership that she gave to so many of us. Phyllis gathered a team of younger people around her in the pro-life cause in the 1970s and 80s, and we all learned so much from her. She was courageous, hard-working, and professional,and an excellent journalist and communicator, working with skill, enthusiasm and good humour under pressure. Her love and concern for unborn babies drove her and this, combined with her Christian faith, made her some one to whom we looked with admiration and even awe. Britain is in her debt: she understood the great moral issues of our era and sought to make a better future. Just a short while ago, through unusual circumstances, I met Phyllis and her husband Jerry in a London hospital while visiting another friend...it had been a long time - too long - since our last meeting and I now cherish the time we had together, to talk, and to embrace. David (Lord) Alton writes:"For half a century Phyllis has been an indefatigable champion of the unborn child and for the sanctity of human life. Her tireless efforts, right up to her final illness and last days, serve as an inspiration to the next generation. She was an extraordinarily talented woman, utterly dedicated, highly articulate, politically shrewd and the possessor of an encyclopedic memory. Her early training as a Fleet Street journalist never left her short of things to say. Her Christian faith and her beloved husband, Jerry, kept her strong throughout years of having to fight endless battles against abortion, embryo experimentation, human cloning and euthanasia. Her name deserves to be associated with some of the great women who have given their lives to great causes - Elizabeth Fry, Florence Nightingale, Emmeline Pankhurst, Cicely Saunders, Mother Teresa and Sue Ryder."