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Liam Neeson quits Catholic boxing club over pro-abortion video

Actor Liam Neeson poses during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards in Los Angeles, California November 8, 2014. | Reuters/Kevork Djansezian

Irish actor Liam Neeson has resigned from a boxing club affiliated with a Catholic Church over reports of disagreements with the members for his support for abortion.

Neeson started training at the All Saints Boxing Club in his home town of Ballymena at age nine and later served as its president, according to The Irish News.

Members of the club were reportedly upset by his support of a campaign to repeal the 8th Amendment which prohibits abortion except in cases when the mother's life is in danger.

The Hollywood actor served as the narrator for the campaign video initiated by Amnesty International calling for changes to the region's abortion laws.

"A ghost haunts Ireland. A cruel ghost of the last century still bound to the land. It blindly brings suffering, even death, to the women whose lives it touches," Neeson narrated in the video.

The commercial which was released last year was written by Graham Linehan, the creator of British comedy series Father Ted. The video was labeled "shockingly offensive" by pro-life advocates.

Ireland is currently being pressured by pro-abortion groups as well as the U.N. to legalize abortion on demand.

Last month, Amnesty International submitted a 45,000-signature petition calling for reforms on the region's abortion laws to the Northern Ireland Assembly. In response, the pro-life organization Precious Life presented a petition with more than 300,000 signatures to the assembly.

Bernadette Smyth questioned the validity of Amnesty's petition because anyone can sign it even if they are not residents of the region.

"A person signing Amnesty's online petition is only asked to provide his or her name and email. These petitions hold no weight and should not be taken seriously by the Northern Ireland Assembly," she remarked.

Smyth noted that the petition initiated by Precious Life includes names and email addresses of the signatories.

"These petitions are real proof of the united and unyielding conviction of the pro-life majority in Northern Ireland that every human being, born or unborn, has an unconditional right to life and should remain protected by our laws," she said.

Pro-life groups have estimated that more than 100,000 unborn babies have been saved from abortion because of the 8th Amendment.