Sad News From Ireland

 

Government Votes for Abortion; People Call for Referendum

 

Irish legislators in the lower chamber approved legislation that establishes for the first time legal grounds for the destruction of an unborn child in abortion. By a vote of 127-31 in the Dáil, TDs [members of the Dáil] advanced the “Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013″ to permit abortion if a woman threatens suicide during any point of pregnancy or if the life of the mother is threatened.

Despite claims from Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Enda Kenny that the bill will not change Ireland’s law on abortion, pro-life advocates maintain that the legislation will not only establish exceptions to current law, but will open the door to a further loosening of pro-life protections. Pro-abortion groups are hailing the vote as a victory for “abortion rights.”

Kenny refused to allow a conscience vote for legislators of his Finna Gael party leading to the expulsion of five lawmakers including Minister of State for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton. Creighton expressed concern that the evidence presented during legislative hearings was ignored stating:

“I am deeply concerned about it and I appeal, as I have done a multitude of times, to the Minister for Health to listen to the evidence put forward by medical experts and the psychiatrists the Minister is asking to administer the flawed section. They say they cannot do it. Please let us listen to them and please let us not enshrine flawed logic and flawed legislation on our Statute Book.”

She said it “was not possible” to compromise on matters of “life and death”. Sinn Fein member Peadar Toibin also voted against his party’s whip and is likely to be expelled from the party.
The legality of the vote had been protested by a record-setting 60,000 participants who had assembled for the All Ireland Rally for Life in Dublin to protest the government’s bill and demand a national referendum with signs saying “Let us vote.”

Irish law requires a referendum to overturn the national constitutional pro-life provisions which gives equal protection to the lives of unborn children and their mothers. Speaking at the rally, Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said 100,000 people had already signed a pro-life pledge and that the Taoiseach and TDs voting for abortion will be remembered.

“This is not just about abortion, it’s about democracy and letting the people decide on this hugely important issue. A recent Amárach poll told us that a huge 86 per cent of people supported the right of the people to decide the issue by referendum,” she said.
Former presidential candidate and MEP Dana Rosemary Scallon echoed calls for a national referendum on the issue.

“There is no legal or constitutional obligation for Enda Kenny or any other politician to legislate for the deliberate killing of an unborn child and there is no medical evidence to support this radical change to how we treat our mothers and their children,” said Scallon.
The legislation now moves to the Irish Senate where it is expected to pass.

Source: NRLC NEWS