Caption:Â Pro Life Campaigners outside the State Capitol in Austin, Texas
Thereâs really compelling evidence that the lives of approximately 1,000 babies are being saved from abortion each month in Texas as a direct result of the recent abortion ban there, combined with the impact of the Alternatives to Abortion programme being run in the state, which provides life-affirming alternatives to abortion and aims to improve maternal and child health.Â
The Alternatives to Abortion programme received state funding to the tune of $100 million for 2022-23, with $140 million already authorised for 2024-5.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has confirmed the collapse in the number of abortions taking place in the state and local pro-life counselling services are speaking about their first hand experience dealing with the huge increase in the number of women deciding to keep their babies who are availing of the support being offered to them.
LifeNews quotes from an article penned this week by the President of Human Coalition, one of the largest pro-life organisations in the U.S, and the Executive Director of the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, where they say: âBy establishing both a law that protected precious lives and a strong material safety net for vulnerable women, Texas truly became a leader for how states should respond to the needs of women everywhere post-Dobbs. We are extraordinarily proud to have been part of this effort.â
The huge drop in the number of abortions in Texas is also backed by research published in June by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which concluded that âthe Texas abortion ban resulted in nearly 9,800 extra live birthsâ in the state in the year after the new law went into effect.
Michael J. New, an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute also conducted research earlier this year that came to very similar findings to those in the Johns Hopkins study.
âIn my Charlotte Lozier Institute analysis of Texas birth data, I found that the Heartbeat Act was preventing approximately 1,000 abortions from taking place in Texas every month,â New wrote earlier this week in a column published at LifeNews. âAlso, new data from the CDC show that in 2022 the Texas birth rate increased by 4.7 percent â the largest percentage increase in the country.â
What has been achieved in Texas is a tremendous victory for life. The combination of an abortion ban and putting the supports in place to assist women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy has without any doubt saved tens of thousands of lives to date.Â
The way the Government here however is taking things in the complete opposite direction is a terrible tragedy - spending tens of millions of taxpayersâ money on ending the lives of unborn babies as they watch the abortion rate spiral. Itâs why we have to do everything in our power as a movement to encourage more and more people to vote pro-life at election time.
 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.
New Speakers include:Â
Cllr. Deirdre Donnelly is an Independent Councillor for the DĂșn Laoghaire-Rathdown area. As well as being a hard working councillor on local issues, she has a keen interest in culture and the arts and is well known for her promotion of the Irish language. As a councillor, among other things, she is a passionate advocate on disability issues and ensuring proper supports are in place. She is also a courageous defender of the right-to-life of unborn babies and strongly believes that more attention needs to be paid to meeting the needs of women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.
Jordan Brittain is Pacific Southwest Regional Coordinator for Students for Life of America, organising pro-life students across 13 US States. She has worked with various pregnancy centres in Arizona and California  and her current role includes educating and training students about abortion on and off campuses, managing events and lobbying for the pro-life cause.
 We will also have the following Workshops from 11am:
Social Media
Students for Life
Medical
Political Engagement
Grassroots Action
Support of Mothers and Babies
Plus, information Stands featuring different pro-life initiatives, organisations, resources, leaflets, pregnancy support and more!
FREE childminding facility available on the day! Simply indicate your interest when filling in the registration form. (Limited availability and subject to pre-booking),
Seating for the event is limited - so donât delay, register TODAY below to attend the conference next Saturday!Â
Deputy Carol Nolan TD, in separate parliamentary questions put to the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, has revealed several pertinent points of information.Â
When queried on the amount of proposed âsafe access zonesâ which the progressing legislation would create, the Minister ran away from answering the question. He stated, âI am not in a position to specify the number of zones.â
We know that the Department of Health commissioned TĂĄilte Ăireann (formerly the OSI) to try and get a handle on just how much territory the 100-metre zones would cover across Ireland. The Minister is either unable or unwilling to give a clear and adequate answer on this question.Â
Nonetheless, the Minister expects the Oireachtas and members of the public not to ask such questions, and instead to railroad through a piece of draconian legislation on the basis of a deceptive campaign mounted by seasons pro-abortion activists.Â
Separately, Deputy Carol asked the Minister for Health whether the government supports the EU parliamentâs decision of 12 September 2023 to adopt a common EU framework to allow the sale of human embryos and other bioproducts.Â
In reply, Minister Donnelly shockingly expressed no concern whatsoever about the sale of human embryos. Deputy Nolan asked âWhere have we arrived at when a question on the sale of human embryos elicits so indifferent a response?â
On Tuesday, Dr Thomas Finegan told members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Assisted Dying that maintaining the current law is the only âcredible safeguard on offer against the normalisation of consensual killing in healthcareâ.
Dr Finegan, who is an assistant professor at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College, said : âCurrently, as a matter of clear, coherent basic principle, our healthcare excludes choices to self-kill.â
He told the assembled TDs and Senators: âWithin the euthanasia framework a consensual choice in favour of death becomes a principled part of good healthcare. There is no stable middle ground. Any line drawn between a legitimate and illegitimate euthanasia ground, or between an acceptable and unacceptable annual number of euthanasia cases, will appear as unfair discrimination against patients excluded from the right to access euthanasia.â
He said: âConsistency demands that should euthanasia be legalised it would be available on virtually all medical grounds, for example chronic illness, conditions closely associated with disability, experience of suffering (which is inherently subjective and not limited to physical suffering), and mental disorders (once capacity remains).
âTellingly, pro-euthanasia contributions at the Committee have generally avoided affirming euthanasia restrictions,â Dr Finegan said.
Professor Kevin Yuill, Emeritus professor of history at the University of Sunderland and chief executive of the Humanists Against Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia also addressed the committee on Tuesday and warned how in Canada where euthanasia was legalised in 2016 âmany seek euthanasia for problems of homelessness, poverty, and inadequate medical resources. This is before mental illness becomes an eligibility criterion in March 2024.â
He pointed out that âthe Netherlands expanded the range of conditions considered eligible in 2007, after making euthanasia legal in 2002, while the definition of âunbearable sufferingâ central to the law has also loosened. Belgium, which legalised euthanasia in 2003, ended all age restrictions in 2014, making the practice possible for children.â
Professor Kevin Yuill added: âWe believe that it is wrong for the state to kill citizens, whether as punishment for a crime or simply because peoplesâ lives are wretched. The problem is not the fate of the individual concerned but the fate of a society that agrees to kill themâ.
Those who pushed hardest for the new Oireachtas committee to be established are determined to see euthanasia legalised in this country. Talk in the media in recent weeks about securing âproper safeguardsâ and making sure no one ever feels âpressuredâ to opt for euthanasia is ridiculous when you look at the evidence emerging from countries like Canada and the Netherlands where most safeguards have been swept away after a very short period of time and where more and more people are made feel like a âburdenâ on family and friends and decide to be euthanized.Â
Kerry Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae is Chair of the special Oireachtas Committee looking at the issue. Heâs doing a good job keeping some semblance of balance with regard to the people chosen to present before the committee.
Following the death of 90-year-old US Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the stateâs governor Gavin Newsom has named Laphonza Butler to finish the late Ms Feinsteinâs term.
Ms Butler was president of EMILYâs List from 2021 until she was designated as Ms Feinsteinâs successor on 1st October. EMILYâs List is an American political action committee (PAC) which aims to elect pro-abortion Democratic female candidates to public office. Theyâve raised $240 million for political initiatives.
Ms Butler has come under fire for not residing in the state of California which she is now expected to represent in the US Senate. EMILYâs List scrubbed its website of references to Ms Butlerâs Maryland residence in the hours following the announcement.
The pro-life equivalent to EMILYâs List is the Susan B. Anthony List. Its president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, slammed Governor Newsom for being âbeholden to the abortion lobbyâ and facilitating a âpay-to-play systemâ. She continued, âVoters need to realize the days of âsafe, legal and rareâ are gone â todayâs Democratic Party stands for abortion any time, for any reason with no limits up to birth.â
It's also the case in Ireland that pro-abortion activists are feted with plaudits and awards. The Taoiseachâs Seanad nominees have in recent years been the most pro-abortion politicians from the mainstream parties, who have been appointed over the heads of the electorate.
 With the Oireachtas returning, 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. Itâs important that we take action now.
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.
Itâs also important to have meetings with your TDs. These can be as simple as dropping into your local TDâs advice clinic to outline your concerns. Click below to register to lobby your local TDs. Donât worry â weâll 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 DĂĄil 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 â which are already extreme in their own right.
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.
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]