Just three years ago, On New Year’s Day 2019, abortion on demand became legal after the deletion of the RIGHT TO LIFE, contained in the 8th Amendment of our Irish constitution.
Three years later, we gather to remember those unborn boys and girls who have been aborted since REPEAL. According to The Irish abortion clock, almost 20 thousand unborn children have lost their lives since REPEAL.
According to www.irishabortionclock.com, almost 20,000 unborn children have been aborted since the introduction of laws allowing elective abortions in Ireland.
Today, we will be laying 100 white crosses to represent those children’s lives. Our brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, cousins, sons and daughters.
As we lay each White Cross, please remember that each single cross represents 200 lost lives. Some unwanted, some disabled, some wanted but aborted for social or economic reasons.
As we lay each White Cross, please remember the mothers and fathers who suffer the loss of their child and those parents who regret the abortion of their child.
Last Year, pro-abortion political parties and abortion organisations started calling for a start to the promised Three Year Review of abortion legislation. These groups don’t want to reduce abortion by providing a child friendly environment, they want MORE child abortions. These groups use words like “Reproductive Rights” and “pro-choice” to market more abortions in Ireland.
We have been told that this Three year Review will be held independently of Government, but the Pro Life Campaign has reported that the Minister for Health is approaching the abortion review with a view to “radically expanding” abortions in Ireland.
Ms Eilis Mulroy of the Prolife Campaign said that the minister’s “one-sided” approach means the review could be a “cold house” for those who hold a pro-life viewpoint.
The main campaign by the pro-choice activists during this review is to have the 3 day reflection period removed. These abortion activists think it’s a bad idea to have expectant mothers reflect on aborting their child. However, Gript News reported that this 3 day reflection period led to an estimated 870 expectant mothers changing their minds and not carrying out an abortion in 2019. Yet, the abortion activists want to remove this life saving process?
As we stand here today, In Ireland, there is a major legal and media push to implement exclusion zones around premises where abortion doctors carry out child abortions. Any future legislation will make criminals of any participants who hold peaceful vigils outside premises committing abortions.
Organisations such as Together for Safety, Abortion Rights Campaign, political parties such as Fine Gael, Labour, People before Profit, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Fianna Fáil all want exclusion zones around premises where abortions and performed.
These groups tell us that it’s to protect the rights of mothers. They tell us that prolife people who take part in prolife vigils intimidate and harass mothers entering abortion premises.
Their allegations against prolife people go unchallenged in the Dáil and in the mainstream, mostly pro abortion media.
However allegations by pro abortion politicians, media organisations and the reasons given to introduce legislation to ban prolife vigils near abortion premises do not stack up to scrutiny.
Back in September 2019, GRIPT.ie reported
“The (Garda) Commissioner confirmed his “satisfaction with existing public order legislation to adequately deal with any reasonable public order incident that may arise at such centres. I re-confirm my views expressed at our recent meeting that protests to date at such centres have not contravened the law and are peaceful.”
There was “no evidence to suggest that there is threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour directed towards persons utilising those services,” the Commissioner added in his letter to the Minister for Health.
More recently in December 2021 Limerick Hospital joined the exclusion zone debate saying “The UL (University Hospital) Hospitals Group has said it is has not received any complaints from patients or their families or staff relating to safe access to University Maternity Hospital Limerick, despite a number of politicians calling for a “safe access zone” to be organised at the hospital claiming anti-abortion protestors have regularly been intimidating patients going in and out of the hospital throughout 2021 reported the Limerick Post.
Yet, for the first time in modern Irish history, a minority group will be banned from peaceful protest near the vicinity of abortion premises.
The minority pro-life community will be censored and criminalised. Imagine the backlash if the minority LGBT parades were targeted and banned.
In pro-life countries like Hungary, their government encourages couples and families. Hungarians are encouraged to marry, have children and receive financial supports and housing. The Hungarian parliament has a minister for the Family, not just a minister for Children like we have here in Ireland. All legislation implemented in Hungary goes through a rigorous analysis to measure the positive and negative impacts on Families living in Hungary
That’s the opposite to what our government do here in Ireland. In some ways, families are discouraged. The lack of affordable Housing for couples looking to start a family being one blatant anti-family policy. Another is the tax position for mothers who choose to stay at home to have a family.
Also in 2021, some brave Irish politicians in the Life and dignity Group drafted a Bill to provide pain relief for the unborn child in certain cases of abortion.
The first stage of the Bill stated the following;
“The infliction of unnecessary or avoidable pain on human beings, especially those with no capacity to resist, is something that all compassionate societies should seek to avoid.”
“Thankfully, in most areas of modern medicine, this principle is routinely adopted in practice.”
“This is why medical ethics require that surgical procedures, both routine and major, are carried out with the use of anaesthetics and analgesics, except in extreme circumstances where this is not possible.”
“These values also inform our attitudes to the treatment of animals. Under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, vets and farmers are required to use anaesthetics when carrying out any procedure on an animal.”
The Foetal Pain Relief Bill was debated in December 2021 and we had Deputy Holly Cairns, a TD in the Social Democrats Party tweeted:
"The 'Foetal Pain Relief' Bill is an attempt to drag us backwards.
The women of Ireland who have had to endure patriarchal control for generations, will not put up with it.
The days of middle-aged men trying to control the bodies of young women are over."
The Bill was supported by two Waterford TD’s Independent TD, Matt Shanahan and Fianna Fails TD and Minister Mary Butler. We thank both of these Deputies for their compassionate support.
We also invited all Waterford TD’s and County councillors to this White Cross Memorial today.
We received email acknowledgments from Deputies Mary Butler, Matt Shanahan and David Cullinane.
As of last week, we received no responses from any Waterford based county councillors.
We are saddened that child abortion is now a political football used to gain votes for liberal politicians.
2021 also saw the launch of the International Prolife Flag. This is a major positive move for prolife advocates around the world. We finally have a universal symbol we can rally around and increase our voice.
Today, is the first time we will unfurl the new Prolife flag in Waterford.
On behalf of DeiseForLife, Thank you all for attending and participating and keeping the Prolife message alive in our communities, workplaces and homes.
May you all have a Happy and Peaceful 2022.
The Deise4Life Committee
