On Tuesday, William Binchy, Emeritus Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College Dublin spoke before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Assisted Dying and made a passionate and very persuasive appeal to TDs and Senators to oppose the push for euthanasia/assisted suicide to be legalised in Ireland.Â
Representing the Pro Life Campaign at the hearing, Mr Binchy told committee members:Â
âHaving worked in law reform for nearly twenty years and represented the Irish Human Rights Commission during the formulation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it is my firm view that introducing physician-assisted suicide would breach the respect for the value of human life in a deep way, with damaging consequences for children, the aged, the infirm and people with mental disabilities.Society is not some empty abstraction. It is the cumulative experience of countless generations of flesh-and-blood people around the world. The sound judgment of society for millennia has been that we should protect life by not introducing a law of this kind.â
On several occasions as Mr Binchy attempted to answer questions from committee members, he was interrupted by Senator Lynn Ruane who hurled cheap and tasteless insults at the Emeritus Professor for simply stating his opposition to euthanasia in a calm and thoughtful manner.Â
Senator Ruane also used the opportunity to have a cut at the pro-life movement, asking Mr Binchy what had the Pro Life Campaign ever done to advance human dignity.
If Senator Ruane rested the vitriol and took an honest look at the record of the pro-life movement, sheâd discover that in addition to defending the right to life of every human being, members and associates of the pro-life movement are to the forefront in providing practical support and outreach to many of the most vulnerable members of society, whether it be helping the homeless, people with special needs, young mothers and families who are struggling, or assisting older persons or those with a terminal illness. The thousands of people who happen to be members of the pro-life movement and selflessly give of their time week in week out to help others are not looking for special praise or recognition. But it is crass in the extreme for a member of the Oireachtas to single out an entire group of people and make sweeping and unfounded claims about them, all because they happen to hold a different position to hers on the right to life. Senator Ruaneâs conduct on Tuesday is instructive of how far standards have dropped in the Houses of the Oireachtas when it comes to debating issues.Â
It should be noted for the record though that Mr Binchy was asked some constructive questions by other committee members, leading to robust and valuable over and back exchanges. Senator Ruaneâs repeated outbursts deserve to be remarked upon but thankfully she didnât manage to wreak havoc on the entire proceedings which lasted for over two hours.
The other witnesses aside from William Binchy who presented before the committee on Tuesday were: Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK, and Lloyd Riley, Director of policy and research at the UK-based Dignity in Dying.
You can watch William Binchyâs 5-minute opening statement to the committee here
On Wednesday, Stephen Donnelly appeared before the Health Committee. Here he announced that on Tuesday he authorised that telemedicine abortion would become a permanent fixture of Irish abortion policy. His unilateral decision to permanently change the abortion legislation represents a massive shift, one which was made without any media scrutiny and wasnât based on a shred of evidence into the impact of telemedicine abortion in Ireland.
During the drafting of the 2018 abortion legislation, the then Minister for Health Simon Harris gave a public assurance that âtermination of pregnancy services in Ireland is not going to be done by tele-medicine.â Abortion advocates at the time strongly highlighted the danger of self-administering abortion pills which had been imported online without the woman having received an in-person examination. Now five years on, the government has brazenly backpedalled and has instituted a permanent telemedicine abortion regime, which puts the health of women at profound risk.
Continuing telemedicine abortion on a permanent basis puts the most vulnerable women at risk, particularly those in abusive or coercive relationships and those trapped in human trafficking. In a letter from the HSE written in May 2022, the HSE acknowledged that âin-person consultations allow provision of personalised care and 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.âÂ
The idea that a âblended approachâ (which means in-person appointments remain optional, alongside telemedicine appointments) is a solution to this does not stand up to scrutiny. A woman who is the victim of an abuser or who is being trafficked will not be permitted to attend an âoptionalâ in-person appointment and will instead be pressured to acquire the abortion pills via a faceless telephone consultation. There is no way for a doctor to verify that a woman is truly alone during a telephone call and isnât being pressured by a third-party.
As of March 2023, the Department of Health admitted that âno formal research or analysis on remote consultation has been conducted in Irelandâ, and they were relying wholly on academic literature mostly from England. In England, the dramatic effects of telemedicine were laid to bare in the case of Cara Foster in July 2023, who lied to BPAS about the stage of her pregnancy during a telemedicine remote consultation. She received and self-administered abortion pills at 8 months, which was 22 weeks beyond the legal limit for at-home abortions. This case demonstrated the flaws with telemedicine, as without an in-person consultation a doctor cannot accurately verify a womanâs gestational stage.
Itâs clear that Minister Donnellyâs views on telemedicine abortion are blinkered by a narrow focus on an extreme expansion of abortion in Ireland. Meanwhile, the most vulnerable women will be left to fall through the cracks, and their situation made even worse by making telemedicine a permanent feature of Irish abortion policy.
 The US state of Colorado has been stopped by a federal court from enforcing a ban on Abortion Pill Reversal treatment, which is known to reverse the effects of the first abortion pill if taken in time.
In a court order delivered on 21st October and reported on by LifeNews.com, Judge Daniel D. Domenico wrote: âThe law at issue here runs afoul of these First Amendment principles, and because it does, the State must come forward with a compelling interest of the highest order to maintain the law. It has not even attempted to do so.â
Pro-life lawyer Rebekah Ricketts said the ruling âensures that pregnant women across the state will receive the care they deserve,â and she criticised Colorado for âtrying to make outlaws of doctors and nurses providing life-saving and compassionate care.â
Many people reading this will be familiar with the story of Irish medic Dr Dermot Kearney, who has saved a great many unborn babies from the brink of abortion through his work assisting mothers who regret taking the abortion pill and who look in desperation for help to undo the effects of the pill taken to end the life of their child. A series of complaints were lodged against Dr Kearney with the UKâs General Medical Council by pro-abortion campaigners which he had to fight and was eventually vindicated.Â
Dr Kearneyâs story and the latest case from Colorada show the lengths some people are prepared to go to, to deny women the choice of keeping their babies. Hopefully this week's federal court win in the US is a sign that the spurious attempts to stop Abortion Pill Reversal treatment is running out of steam. Â
Watch Senator RĂłnĂĄn Mullen taking issue with the author of the âpartisanâ abortion review report over her performance at last weekâs Oireachtas Health Committee meeting. Watch the clip of Senator Mullen here
 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]
