Young volunteers at a recent pro-life march in Paris
A critical vote takes place in France next week on whether to enshrine abortion as a âguaranteed freedomâ in the Constitution. On Wednesday night the senate voted in favour and next week the issue will be voted on at a joint session of parliament. Â
The excuse offered by the French government and other lawmakers for bringing forward the proposal was that the âright to an abortionâ is under threat in the US and other countries in Europe.
Earlier this week, French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, said: âWhen womenâs rights are attacked in the world, France stands up and places itself at the avant garde of progress.â
This latest move by the French president is designed to thwart the possibility of pro-life laws being passed in the future. To avoid a referendum on the issue, he has devised a way to convene a special âcongressâ featuring both houses of parliament, where a three-fifths majority would secure the change to the Constitution.
The truth however is that the Constitution and laws of a country are supposed to defend and vindicate the basic rights of citizens, especially the rights of the most vulnerable and defenceless members of society. Itâs terribly sad watching politicians jockeying for position and courting praise for casting aside the very notion of the right to life and summarily replacing it with a right to kill â in the name of âchoiceâ, âlibertyâ and âprogressâ.
Peter Fitzpatrick TD, Dr Miriam Colleran, Senator RĂłnĂĄn Mullen
On Tuesday, the All Party Oireachtas Life and Dignity Group hosted an event on palliative care and euthanasia with Dr Miriam Colleran. She is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine in Naas General Hospital.Â
A good number of TDs and Senators from various parties and none attended the event, as well as a number of parliamentary assistants.Â
Dr Colleran focused on her experience as a palliative care consultant and mentioned the ongoing debate on Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide. Some weeks back, she also appeared before the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying, which is due to issue its report shortly.Â
Among other things, she raised the concerns of many healthcare workers and professional bodies that if euthanasia/assisted suicide was introduced, it would have a direct impact in undermining investment in palliative care. She pointed to Canada as an example of a country which legislated for âassisted dyingâ on an apparently ârestrictedâ basis for people with terminal illness but has now expanded euthanasia eligibility to other groups based on the principle of equity.
This week, Senators RĂłnĂĄn Mullen and Sharon Keogan introduced several amendments to the Governmentâs draconian âSafe Access Zonesâ Bill 2023, which were debated in the Seanad on Tuesday.Â
The amendments introduced by the pro-life senators included: a provision to ensure that freedom of speech and debate are protected on campuses in higher education institutions; a provision that would allows GPs to opt-out from having their practice automatically designated as a âsafe access zoneâ; an amendment to prevent the law from criminalising marches and protests unwittingly carried out in the vicinity of a zone, such as the annual March for Life which passes through Dublin; a provision which would allow silent prayer to be protected; and a provision which would exempt places of worship from the scope of the law.Â
Read EilĂs Mulroyâs article here from this weekâs Irish Catholic.
The article details how numerous recent Freedom of Information requests on abortion have been rejected on spurious and explicitly partisan grounds, such as that the release of the information could generate opposition to abortion. Itâs worth taking the time to read this important piece.
The push to legalise euthanasia in Ireland is gathering pace now that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Assisted Dying has brought its public hearings to a close.Â
Donât miss this vitally important webinar featuring Senator RĂłnĂĄn Mullen and Stephen Browne for all the up to date news on developments and to find out about the next steps in the campaign to stop euthanasia/assisted suicide from being legalised in Ireland.
The webinar will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, 19th March at 7.30pm.
Community Connect is a registered charity, dedicated to providing practical support to pregnant mothers and vulnerable families with small babies, who are struggling to provide for their children. Â They are running their national donation day on March 9th & 10th, asking people to 'Support a Mother in need for Motherâs Day'. Â They are appealing for donations of baby hygiene items and packs of new baby clothing and blankets, to be given to pregnant mothers and families with newborns across the country.
Community Connect currently operates from five hubs across the country, in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny & Athlone. Â The charity partners with maternity hospitals, homeless agencies, domestic violence services, direct provision centres and health professionals around Ireland, to provide support to pregnant women and new mothers in need with gifts of essential items like buggies, moses baskets, baby clothes and mother and baby packs filled with items such as nappies, maternity items and baby clothing. Â The charity relies on the generosity of volunteers and donors around Ireland to continue its work.
Welcoming a baby should be a very special time in any familyâs life, however it can also be a stressful and challenging time for parents who are struggling to access basic necessities. This is the reality that many pregnant and new mothers in Ireland face every day. Â Community Connect is leading the way in pioneering a national âBaby Bankâ in Ireland, while providing Irish parents with a sustainable and trustworthy way to donate their pre-loved baby items to a family who will really benefit.
It couldn't be easier to get involved in Drive & Drop!
Donors just need to follow three simple steps:
Visit their website www.communityconnect.ie and click on âDrive & Dropâ to check if your area is listed
Browse the list of items requested and decide what you would like to donate
Then drop the items to one of the local drop-off locations on Saturday 9th or Sunday 10th March.
All the items donated will be delivered to pregnant women and new mothers in need in the coming weeks and months.
 Thank you so much to all the volunteers and supporters of the work of Community Connect!
The Local and European elections are scheduled to take place in early June. A General Election will also likely happen before the end of 2024.
Before polling day for each election, the Pro Life Campaign will provide a comprehensive Voter Guide with a list of candidates and parties and where they stand on abortion and other right to life issues.
We've already started work on compiling the list, which involves a huge time commitment. It's vital work though in order to guarantee that the information presented to voters is both thorough and reliable.Â
But for today, we'd be most grateful if you'd set aside some time to send us ANY information you have regarding the stances of candidates in your local area on the right to life issue. Donât assume we have it already! The more information we have the more comprehensive our Voter Guide will be. We take special care in gathering as much verifiable data as possible to accurately reflect where candidates stand and to ensure we have the most up to date information to share with voters.Â
Please send any information you have to [email protected] today or make a note to do so before Monday 11th March. Many thanks for all your help!!
Explore the world of human rights with our internship programme! This is your chance to network, learn advocacy skills, and gain experience in campaign management and project planning.
This one-week internship is available starting every Monday from 15th January. It is suitable for TY and older, third-level students, and anyone interested in gaining experience in non-profit work!Â
Itâs a really important time 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. 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]
