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28th July 2023
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In this Issue...

MEET UP: LifeLines Summer Tour is underway. Meet them in Bundoran today! (#LBB)

READ: (#3)
Sinéad O'Connor's death this week is a great tragedy (#1)

ANNOUNCEMENT: PLC National Conference 2023 date announced! (#PLCNC)

ACTION: Get involved in the Humanity Campaign – Communicate with your politicians this summer. READ: Woman who procured illegal 8 month abortion released from prison (#3)

READ: Cork art exhibition features “The Abortionist’s Garden” (#2)

JOIN US: Ceiliúradh Cois Life - Annual fundraising dinner for pro-life education and support. Tickets now on sale! (#CCL)

ACTION: Better conversations: how to actually change minds about abortion. Workshop in Dublin (#minimise)

JOIN US: be part of LoveBoth 5k Your Way and support mothers and babies in need! (#5klb)

READ: Do you have pro-life material which could be historically relevant? (#history)
LifeLines Summer Tour is underway. Meet them in Bundoran today! (http://)

The LifeLines Summer Tour is underway! The tour which comprises a group of young people touring the north west of the country is happening this week. They attended a gathering with fellow pro-lifers in Cavan yesterday evening and have been spending the last couple of days leafleting, meeting pro-life activists and participating in life-affirming outreach activities.

Today (Friday) the group will be taking part in the LoveBoth 5k Your Way in Bundoran, Co. Donegal raising funds to support women facing unplanned pregnancy and new mothers and babies in need. If you are nearby please come and meet the team and support their efforts. They would love to meet you and to wish them well. You can also join them in the walk if you would like to! The Team will be setting off from the Great Northern Hotel Car Park at 1pm and walking a 5k loop, returning to the car park. Free newly designed LoveBoth t-shirts and goodie bags for kids available!
Sinéad O’Connor’s death this week is a great tragedy. (http://)

Sinéad O'Connor

Sinéad O’Connor’s death this week is a great tragedy. Even though she strongly opposed the work of the pro-life movement and made her dislike of this particular organisation known on more than one occasion, we never doubted her sincerity in trying to find honest answers to the issues she grappled with in life.

As well as her spellbinding talent as a musician, her personal struggles and troubled life kindled in people a genuine care and love for her.There will be lots written in the coming days about her support for abortion, much of it with a slanted take. It’s also worth recalling what she disclosed in her 2021 memoir “Rememberings” about how she was pressured by a record executive and a doctor to abort her first pregnancy. In the end, she ignored their advice and continued with the pregnancy.

According to her memoir, the record executive contacted her doctor to “impress upon” her not to continue with the pregnancy. She claims her doctor said to her:

“Your record company has spent £100,000 recording your album, you owe it to them not to have this baby.”

Furthermore, she claimed that “he informed me that if I flew while pregnant, my baby would be damaged. And anyway, if I was going to be a musician I ought not to have babies because a woman shouldn’t leave her baby to go on tour and at the same time a child can’t be taken on tour.”

The reality of coercive abortion is rarely talked about in the media. The abortion issue is largely reduced to parroting lines about “choice” and “liberation” without exploring the full reality of what legalised abortion entails.
We can only live in hope for a more honest debate to emerge.

Back to the music: what a voice and what an interpreter of the songs she sang.

RIP Sinéad.
SAVE THE DATE! Date for PLC National Conference 2023 announced (http://)
We are delighted to announce that our National Conference this year will take place on Saturday, 14th October 2023 in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin 4.

The theme of the conference is 'Growing the Pro-Life vote, Bringing about change at election time' and underlines our focus on getting more public representatives elected who will speak up courageously for human rights, for the right to life of unborn children and for care and support for women in unplanned pregnancy.

Stay tuned for updates on speakers in the coming weeks but for now, mark the date in your diary. See you there!
Cork art exhibition features “The Abortionist’s Garden” (http://)

Irish Examiner Culture section featuring 'The Abortionist's Garden'

A report in the Irish Examiner of 26 th July 2023 featured six of its author’s “favourite pieces” at Cork’s Crawford Art Gallery. One piece included in his top picks was titled The Abortionist’s Garden, a watercolour, by Jennifer Trouton.

The write-up on the painting, which features 32 plants said to be abortifacients, explained it also contained subtle images of ‘the female pelvis and uterus’ as well as ‘maps of Ireland’. 32 was said to represent the counties of Ireland and ‘reflects on how abortion... continues to be an issue on this island, where even the decriminalisation of abortion in the south [in] 2018 has failed to bring parity with Northern Ireland, as part of Great Britain.’

Art is subjective, but it’s regrettable that something as tragic as abortion should be depicted so positively in an art exhibition and subsequently reported on without a hint of discomfort in a mainstream newspaper. All topics are on the table for artists to explore, but it was unfortunate on this occasion that not a dose of reality was presented which would challenge the piece’s indisputably positive portrayal of abortion.

In fact, it lauds the introduction of legal abortion in Ireland which last year claimed the lives of 8,876 unborn babies. Abortion was until recently agreed, by all sides, to be a human tragedy and not something to be celebrated in such a one-sided manner.
Humanity Campaign - Action alert! (http://)
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With the Oireachtas adjourned for the summer, it presents a perfect opportunity to approach your local TDs and Senators and urge them to reintroduce some humanity into the debate on abortion. The Three-Year Review, a seriously flawed process which produced a one-sided and extreme report, will be considered by politicians in the autumn. It’s important that we take action over the summer.
We have produced a quick and easy Virtual Postcard for you to sign, which will automatically send an email to your local TDs. Use the button below to navigate into your county on our website and find your constituency.

It’s also important to have meetings with your TDs. These can be as simple as dropping into your local TD’s advice clinic to outline your concerns. Click below to register to lobby your local TDs. Don’t worry – we’ll help you every step of the way with advice on making the appointment to points you might consider raising.

We are heartened by the number of people actively involved and interested in meeting their politicians to express their views. The People Before Profit Bill which regrettably passed at 2nd stage of the Dáil on 31st May must also be countered. Even the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has said this Bill goes far beyond the recommendations of the Three-Year Review – which are already extreme in their own right.

During Summer 2023, it is crucial to engage with our politicians and remind them not to overlook the referendum promises. We need to fight to ensure our abortion policy is aimed at reducing the abortion rate.

Please take a moment to get involved in theHumanity Campaign ([link removed]) . Remember even the smallest effort will make a big difference.

Thank you!
Register for workshop on 2nd August here ([link removed])
Send an instant email to your politicians here ([link removed])
Read more about the Humanity Campaign here ([link removed])
Woman who procured illegal 8 month abortion released from prison (http://)
Carla Foster, 44, the woman who was sentenced to prison in June for knowingly self-administering an abortion at 8 months of pregnancy, has been released from prison. She acknowledged she had been “plagued by nightmares and flashbacks” after seeing the face of her aborted daughter, Lily.

She was released from jail, with her sentence reduced from 28 months to 14 months imprisonment which was then suspended.

The judge in the case, Dame Victoria Sharp, acknowledged it was “a very sad case, not least because of the length of the gestation when the offence was committed.”

The case caused widespread public discomfort and shock when it was revealed she had lied to BPAS about the stage of her pregnancy and misused the government’s “bills by post” telemedicine scheme to acquire abortion pills at 32 weeks gestation. The general cut off point for a chemical abortion is 9 weeks of pregnancy; after this point, a surgical abortion is required. In Ms Foster’s case, she was 22 weeks outside the legal limit for a home-abortion.

Ms Foster’s release was hailed by pro-abortion campaigners who sought to use this tragic case as a means to introduce legal abortion up until birth. This proposal is far out of step with the public’s view on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Pro-life campaigners in Britain have criticised the decision of BPAS to provide Carla Foster with abortion pills and their failure to examine the woman in person to assess the validity of her claims.

At 8 months gestation, Baby Lily was a fully formed human child and was more than capable of surviving outside the womb.

JOIN US: Ceiliúradh Cois Life - Annual fundraising dinner for pro-life education and support. Tickets now on sale! (http://)
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The seventh annual Ceiliúradh Cois Life Dinner for Pro-Life Education will take place in the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin 4 on Saturday, September 9th 2023 at 7:00pm.

Join us for an evening of celebration, live music, great company and dancing! Not only will this event be an opportunity to introduce more people to the pro-life cause, but it’s also a fantastic occasion to reunite with friends and fellow volunteers.

Our guest speaker this year is Lord David Alton. A leading human rights defender, David Alton has been a consistent voice for the oppressed and marginalised since he began his political career in Britain in 1979. First elected as a Liberal MP for a Liverpool constituency, he now sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. And as always, this event is supported by Senator Rónán Mullen.

It is sure to be an uplifting and enjoyable evening and the proceeds of the dinner will ensure that the vital education and support work of the Pro Life Campaign can continue — including running educational programmes for young people in the pro-life movement on college campuses and through the Future Leaders Programme and assisting new mothers and those with unplanned pregnancy with practical items and support.

The price of a table of ten is €1,500. Individual tickets are €150 each. If you would like to join us on the evening, you can purchase your ticket(s) instantly below. Please note if you wish to reserve tickets/a table and pay later or use a form of payment other than credit card payment, please email [email protected]

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you there!
Read more and purchase tickets here ([link removed])
Better conversations: how to actually change minds about abortion (http://)
The Minimise Project ([link removed]) , an Irish pro-life group dedicated to changing minds about abortion via productive conversations, is running their popular interactive workshop in Dublin TOMORROW Saturday, 29th of July. The workshop takes place at 11.00 sharp in Balally Pastoral Centre ([link removed]) (Eircode D16 E032). The workshop will run until 3pm with a break midway (please bring your own lunch).

Attendees will learn the basics of pro-life apologetics, including personhood and bodily rights arguments, as well as why personal conversations about abortion matter, and how to make a conversation persuasive and productive without putting people under pressure. You will also have opportunities to practice having conversations about abortion, where you can put what you have learned into practice.

There is no need to register in advance but any queries can be sent to
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Join us for LoveBoth 5k Your Way and support mothers and babies in need! (http://)
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Join us for LoveBoth 5k Your Way and support mums and babies in need!

Walk, run, cycle, or swim - choose your own way to complete the 5k and have a blast while doing it!

Whether solo or with friends, your participation matters. Spread the word, ask your loved ones to sponsor you, and inspire others to join in!

Together, let's raise funds to empower women in unplanned pregnancy and support new mothers. Every step counts!

Register today and receive your LoveBoth T-Shirt and sponsorship pack. Don't miss out!

Click here ([link removed]) to sign up TODAY!
Sign Up Now! ([link removed])
Do you have pro-life material which could be historically relevant? (http://)
We are putting out a call for anyone in possession of any documents, photographs, correspondence, etc. relevant to the Irish pro-life movement throughout the decades. We are particularly keen to receive anything in your possession related to periods such as the 1983 referendum. A comprehensive history of the pro-life movement is yet to be written, but the historians of the future will need primary sources. We are asking for people to get in touch with the Pro Life Campaign (mailto:[email protected]) if they possess such material (no matter how old or dusty!) to ensure it is preserved now and not lost to the ages.
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Vital Signs is the e-newsletter of the Pro Life Campaign. We hope you and your families are keeping well in these unusual times. This email is to update you on what we have been working on recently, including news stories, project updates, and details of upcoming events. If you want to get in touch with us please do so by emailing [email protected]

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