Led by British born and raised politician Paul Gavan, Sinn Fein continued their unrelenting war against Catholic prayer for the protection of unborn children this week.
Sinn Fein, who recently came out strongly in support of the Orange Order and their anti Catholic 12th of July celebrations, have been consistent in their efforts to stop people from praying the Rosary at facilities where babies are being aborted.
Gavan claimed that ‘women and pregnant people’ need such legislation immediately, citing Astro Turf group Together for Safety as their evidence for such a ban being needed.
Let me be very clear. We need this legislation without further delay because women and pregnant people are entitled to access essential healthcare including access to termination of pregnancy services in privacy and dignity without being subject to intimidation, harassment and the subtle but deliberate chill effect that anti-choice protesters are bringing to hospital, family planning and GP settings across the State right now.
Legislation was promised three and a half years ago but to date has not been delivered. Indeed, as recently as August, the Minister's Department issued a statement to the effect that there was no need for such a Bill.
Anti free speech activist Gavan stated that the bill would allow for damages to be brought against people who took part in prolife events near any public place that was designated a ‘Safe Access Zone’ for killing babies. Gavan also claimed,
Ongoing anti-abortion protests outside healthcare providers aim to deter individuals from accessing healthcare and doctors from providing it. This can cause distress, exacerbate existing social stigmas and pose a serious risk to a range of rights.
This seems quite ironic considering Sinn Fein recently picketed a Catholic church in Dublin in a UVF style rally.
In an absurd presentation, Lynn Boylan, who ran for election in Ireland’s wealthiest constituency recently, presented a number of unverifiable anecdotes about alleged harassment of women availing of abortions.
Boylan also falsely claimed that Sinn Fein, who now want the Orange Order’s celebrations made a mandatory public celebration across the entire island, that this was not an attack on religious freedom.
The protestors know what they are doing. They know the chilling effect that their protests are having. They know exactly what they are doing. This is not about religious freedom. This is about curtailing women's freedoms.
Infamous ‘politician’ Lorraine Clifford Lee then spoke also. Clifford Lee made headlines in 2019, for her incendiary and abusive tweets about Dwarves, Brazilians, Travellers, Black People, ‘Common Folk’ amongst others. She now works as a Senator against the wishes of the public, who rejected her in subsuquent elections.
She began by bizarrely claiming that:
Women and pregnant people should be able to access health services
Lorraine Clifford Lee then bragged of taking part in abortion imperialism in Poland with Lisa Chambers, who was also rejected by voters last year after claiming to be ‘prolife’ while stating ‘abortion regret is a makey up term, it doesn’t exist’.
My colleague, Senator Chambers, and I visited Poland recently. On behalf of the all-party group on sexual and reproductive health and rights, we signed the Warsaw commitment to freedom of expression in Europe, and to the access and support of people's sexual and reproductive rights
Clifford Lee also claimed that although everyone has a right to protest, she does not like anti abortion ones, therefore she would prefer if they did not take place.
Protests are part of our psyche in Ireland. I am a prolific protester. I have protested with great gusto in the past, but I would never seek to protest outside a medical establishment. These protests are very far-reaching in their impact, not only on the people accessing termination services but also on everybody accessing health services within a particular establishment, the staff and the wider community.
In response, Senator Sharon Keoghan rightly pointed out that Astro Turf group Together for Safety should not be allowed to dictate our laws, with the help of unelected politicians like Clifford Lee and Lisa Chambers.
The Minister is very welcome to the House. As I read through this Bill, I was reminded of Senator McDowell's Children (Amendment) Bill 2020 which passed into law in April 2021. That was a targeted Bill, urgently drafted to remedy an obviously unintended legal situation. There was a universally recognised need for that Bill by the public but such does not seem to be the case with this Bill. The calls for protest prohibition zones, which, let us call a spade a spade, is what they are, do not appear to be coming from the grassroots but almost exclusively from special interest and political advocacy groups. Indeed, the Bill itself was gifted to Senator Gavan by a faceless campaign group, Together for Safety. As legislators, we should be extra vigilant when it comes to outsourcing our constitutional duties to pop-up activists.
As is common with Ireland’s low quality Senators when they are presented with reasonable arguments that counter theirs, Martin Conway responded:
That is a totally unacceptable comment. It is disgraceful.
Lorraine Clifford Lee, who once complained of having to sit beside a ‘black, Brazilian dwarf’ on a Dublin Bus, claimed that she found these comments ‘shameful’.
Senator Martin Conway then laughably claimed, with no evidence, that they were ‘praying in women’s faces’, although there are no photographs of women attending abortion appointments even within the vicinity of such prayer events.
When Sharon Keoghan compared the treatment of these Catholics by pro Orange Order Sinn Fein to that of Kevin Barry, male Senator Martin Conway snarled menacingly ‘you need to be interrupted’. Sinn Fein Senator Niall O’ Donnghaile then joined the pile on against Keoghan said ‘Hear, Hear’.
Clifford Lee then mocked Irish hero Kevin Barry by claiming:
Kevin Barry would’ve been pro choice.
Senator Lisa Chambers, who voters made clear that they did not want representing them last year, then also bragged of the Seanad’s abortion imperialism in Poland before claiming:
Do not protest at innocent citizens who are accessing services that are legal.
Ronan Mullen then pointed out that such a ban on Catholics praying against abortion would be unconstitutional.
The debate fizzled into farce ultimately with a rambling and largely irrelevant contribution from Fintan Warfield.
