The recommendations of the Electoral Commission, which included raising the number of TDs from 160 to 174, has received widespread media coverage and commentary.
More seats give more opportunities for candidates from all parties and none to be elected. Pro-lifers should look at the recommended increase in seats as an opportunity. It should encourage greater engagement with politics, and hopefully prompt people to stand forward for election.
For incumbent pro-life TDs such as Carol Nolan, the Electoral Commission’s report will impact her by recommending the division of her current constituency of Laois-Offaly (5 seats) into two separate 3- seat constituencies: Laois and Offaly.
The Electoral Commission has also recommended splitting Tipperary (5 seats) into two separate 3-seat constituencies: Tipperary South and Tipperary North. Mattie McGrath’s vote is concentrated mostly in the south of the county. Therefore, the division of Tipperary in two will likely be of net benefit to him as a candidate in Tipperary South. But, like with Carol Nolan's situation above and the case of all the other pro-life candidates, absolutely nothing should be taken for granted. They will only be re-elected (and first time pro-life candidates elected) if pro-life volunteers get behind these candidates one hundred percent and do everything in our power to ensure they succeed.
The recommendations also have the interesting consequence of creating several new constituencies, such as Wicklow-Wexford and the division of Dublin Fingal into two 3 seat east and west constituencies.
The former Mayor of Drogheda and Aontú representative for the area, Michael O'Dowd, said on Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder on Wednesday that "as a society we need to decide whether we want to have children with Down Syndrome, and the richness and the beauty that they bring to all our lives, or whether we want to have a society without them."
He was interviewed by Newstalk’s Kieran Cuddihy in response to an article by Sunday Independent columnist David Quinn who wrote in last week’s paper that “maybe modern Ireland isn’t half as compassionate and enlightened as it likes to pretend", given the huge increase in the number of Irish babies who are now aborted once they’re diagnosed with having Down syndrome. It is an acknowledged fact that 95% of parents are opting for abortion when their baby is diagnosed with Down Syndrome at Dublin's Rotunda Hospital.
Mr O'Dowd, whose son Conor has Down syndrome, told the programme it can be a devastating diagnosis to get, but he added: "What I would say, particularly to expectant parents that receive this diagnosis, is number one don't do anything immediately - and number two don't listen to the obstetricians."
Mr O'Dowd said from his knowledge of how these cases are handled, obstetricians generally have "a very jaundiced view of people with disabilities".
He said: "Research has shown - expectant parents - what influences them is talking to other parents that have gone through similar situations".
The former mayor said “all the information” about the condition should be presented to parents and not withheld. This he said will include “some challenging information” but “there'll also be some very positive information."
The issue of unborn babies with Down syndrome being targeted for abortion attracted renewed media attention in recent days after the actor Tommy Jessop (who has Down syndrome and is best known for his role in the BBC detective series Line of Duty) went public about how upsetting he finds it that people like him are being systematically eliminated from society through abortion.
The World Health Organisation’s Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) includes expenditure of 11% of its budget on projects directly related to promoting abortion.
Meanwhile just 5% of the programme’s budget is being directed towards projects which challenge violence against women. This is a travesty and clearly indicates where the priorities of the WHO lie.
The HRP intends to continue funding pro-abortion research which lends an “evidence basis” which can be used to lobby governments internationally to extremify their abortion policy. In Ireland, we can already see the very heavy emphasis placed by the Three-Year Review and campaigners on the need to follow the WHO’s 2022 abortion guidelines. These guidelines include the stripping away of all gestational limits – an outlandish proposal which would permit barbaric 9-month abortions.
The WHO guidelines which are often relied upon by Irish campaigners also recommends a full decriminalisation of abortion. Considering the Irish law defines a termination of pregnancy as the intentional ending of the life of a human foetus, the proposal to decriminalise abortion would have wide-ranging consequences. It would allow untrained people to perform abortions, at any stage of pregnancy, by any mechanism with total impunity – including the infamous “back alley abortions” which pro-abortion campaigners used to reference.
The HRP also sets aside millions of euro to lobby governments internationally to introduce telemedicine abortion. Ireland still has a telemedicine abortion regime, which was introduced under the cover of being a temporary Covid-19 response but one which has been allowed to remain on. As acknowledged by the HSE in March 2022, telemedicine abortion frustrates the possibility of “personalised care”. In-person consultations “allow potential problems to be identified and mitigated. Meeting the woman in person increases the likelihood of the provider identifying any coercion or domestic abuse.”
Irish politicians must realise that the abortion agenda pursued by the WHO, as aside from whatever other positive work it may do, is totally extremist and out of step with Irish public opinion.
Our annual National Conference this year will take place on Saturday, 14th October 2023 in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin 4.
The main 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.
The keynote speaker for the National Conference is Obianuju Ekeocha.Â
Obianuju Ekeocha is a highly respected and well known pro-life advocate on the international stage. She has 135,000 followers on Twitter (X), which gives an indication of the reach and impact she is having. She is the founder of Culture of Life Africa, an initiative dedicated to improving maternal healthcare services for women, while fighting against Western governments who commit vast sums of money for abortion and population control in African countries - something she appropriately describes as "ideological colonisation".Â
Seating for the event is limited - so don’t delay, register today below to attend the conference!Â
Stay tuned for updates on speakers in the coming weeks but for now, click below to register. See you there!
 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 the Humanity Campaign. Remember even the smallest effort will make a big difference.
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 David Alton, Lord Alton of Liverpool. David Alton has been a consistent defender of human rights and human dignity since he first entered politics in his early twenties. He stood as a Liberal Party candidate and was elected to Liverpool City Council in 1972, becoming Britain's youngest city councillor at that time. In 1979, he became the youngest member of the British House of Commons, the 'Baby of the House', on winning the Liverpool Edge Hill by-election. He retained his Liverpool seat until retiring from the House of Commons in 1997. Although at one point the chief whip of the Liberal Party, Lord Alton took his seat as a crossbencher (independent member) of the House of Lords as a personal choice of the outgoing Prime Minister, John Major, in the Dissolution Honours of 1997.
David has used his time in politics to highlight human rights causes all over the world. He established the Jubilee Campaign in 1987 to lobby for human rights and co-founded Jubilee Action, a children's charity established to fulfil the humanitarian needs highlighted by the work of Jubilee Campaign.
He has supported the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong since the Chinese Government clampdown in 2019. In March 2021, it was announced that he was one of two members of the House of Lords to be sanctioned by China for spreading what it called "lies and disinformation" about the country. He was subsequently banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, and Chinese citizens and institutions are prohibited from doing business with him.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, paid him this tribute in 2019 at a surprise ceremony in Westminster to mark his 40 years in national politics: "One of the things makes David the British politician that I most unequivocally and unreservedly admire is his capacity to remind us that democracy is not about amplifying the voices of those who already have a voice but listening for and enabling the voices of those who don't ... David's attention to issues of respect for life from conception to death, and beyond, is one of the things which makes his devotion, his service, so unusually consistent, so unusually of one piece."
David's commitment to Ireland is long-standing and personal. His mother Bridget was a native Irish speaker from Tourmakeady, Co Mayo and he and his children hold Irish citizenship. In 1997 David addressed a full congregation in Knock Basilica during a Mass commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine.
Â
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.
 Â
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!
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 if they possess such material (no matter how old or dusty!) to ensure it is preserved now and not lost to the ages.Â
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]
