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29th May 2020
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Ellen Coyne’s profoundly unjust attack on Doctors for Life ()
On Tuesday, Irish Independent reporter Ellen Coyne returned to something she has become well known for – attacking the pro-life movement.

This time her target was the group Doctors for Life. Her report took issue with pro-life doctors prescribing progesterone to women who had taken the abortion pill but changed their mind and now wished to keep their baby. Abortion pill reversal (APR) has saved the lives of countless babies in other countries who were on the brink of dying from the abortion pills that their mothers had taken.

If you were unfamiliar with how ‘abortion pill reversal’ works and happened to read the report in Tuesday’s Irish Independent you’d have been left with the false but distinct impression that it was impossible to undo the effects of the abortion pill and that trying to save the baby in this way posed a potentially serious risk to the health of women.

As reports go, it was a hatchet job. In Ellen’s reportage, everything the pro-life side does is depicted as rogue and shadowy, while everything the ‘pro-choice’ side does is presented as sweetness and light. It is a simplistic and utterly predictable formula, devoid of even a hint of journalistic curiosity or balance.

The real issue though is not Ellen Coyne’s one-sided take on the abortion issue but that her report passed muster at the Irish Independent editor’s desk.

To be fair, the Irish Independent, more than any other daily newspaper, accepts pieces from the pro-life side from time to time.

Nonetheless, the net effect of the overwhelmingly one-sided coverage across all media outlets in recent years has been that the public is now left with a totally skewed perception and understanding of the issue.

Every newsroom editor in the country knows this to be true. The ones who are not entirely blinkered on the issue should also spot the profound injustice of targeting sincere and genuine doctors who practice evidence-based medicine and happen to be pro-life.

Abortion is now legal in Ireland. It is time for journalists to start asking the hard questions of those who promoted and are now defending the new regime that permits the taking of human life, right up to birth.

In the same week that ‘abortion pill reversal’ was attacked in Ireland, news emerged that an unborn baby had its life ended in England after a woman took “pills by post” abortion drugs while 28 weeks pregnant. The scant coverage this story received in the media is inexcusable.

One positive thing however to emerge from this week's Irish Independent undercover report was the way it demonstrated that pro-life doctors are not going to cower or capitulate to those who distort and misrepresent them. As a group, Doctors for Life are a unique and inspirational bunch of people. They are true witnesses to hope and to the dignity of every human life.
2nd Anniversary of Repeal of the 8th Amendment ()
This week marked the second anniversary of the referendum that opened the door to wide-ranging abortion in Ireland. We remember all the unborn babies who have lost their lives as a result of what happened, and all the mothers betrayed by those who present abortion as a ‘solution’ to an unplanned pregnancy.
#chooselife ([link removed]) #loveboth ([link removed]) #neverlosehope ([link removed]) #fightonloveboth ([link removed]) #prolife ([link removed]) #prowoman ([link removed])
"Since the disappointment, the pro-life movement has redoubled its efforts working to reorient our messaging" - Eilís Mulroy writes in this week's Irish Catholic about the future of the pro-life movement on the second anniversary of repeal of the 8th Amendment. You can access the article online (subscriber only) here ([link removed])
McGuinness calls for national inquiry over State failings in protecting nursing homes ()
Kilkenny TD and Oireachtas Covid-19 committee member John McGuinness has said the coronavirus deaths in nursing homes will be looked back on with “great sorrow and great shame” and as a national scandal. And he called for a national inquiry into State failings, after it emerged that 55% of all deaths from Covid-19 to date in Ireland occurred in nursing homes.

At the same Covid-19 committee meeting, which took place on Tuesday, Nursing Homes Ireland Chief Executive, Tadgh Daly gave evidence that he was “exasperated by the lack of engagement” from the State when he repeatedly sought meetings with the Minister for Health and was turned down, during the period when critical decisions needed to be taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 into nursing homes.

New documents released following Freedom of Information requests reveal the extent of the efforts Nursing Homes Ireland and others went to in order to alert the Department of Health before the virus took hold, and citing the “cataclysmic” situation they faced if immediate action wasn’t taken.

Concerns were raised about the fact that discharges from hospitals into nursing homes were taking place, putting existing residents in the homes at risk. Also raised were concerns about not being able to access PPE and oxygen supplies, owing to the fact that they were being stockpiled by the HSE for use in acute hospitals instead.

Deputy McGuinness said what happened during this period was “a huge scandal” and “reflects a complete failure of policy, a complete disregard for the care of older people.”

He has been joined by other TDs in requesting a national inquiry into what occurred.
Abby Johnson dismisses claim that Norma McCorvey wasn’t genuinely pro-life ()
Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate, has dismissed claims in a new documentary that Norma McCorvey (‘Jane Roe’ in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that opened the door to abortion in the US) was not genuine in her conversion to the pro-life movement.

“Don’t trust it. It’s patently false,” Johnson says, regarding the charges levelled in the documentary.

The documentary, “AKA Jane Roe,” which premiered last Friday on FX, features an interview of McCorvey that purports to show the anonymous plaintiff in Roe v. Wade as saying before her death in 2017 that she turned pro-life because she was paid to do so.
Johnson says: “I spoke to Norma McCorvey days before her death. It was the only time we had ever spoken. An unexpected call and a number I didn’t recognize, I almost didn’t answer. I am so thankful that I did. There was no long introduction. No formalities. She told me that she called because she needed to talk to someone else who had a ‘big number’ and would understand what she needed to ask me.”

Johnson said the term “big number” referred to the number of babies aborted while she was a director at Planned Parenthood, and for McCorvey, the number of abortions nationwide she felt responsible for.

“Yes, I have a ‘big number’ – 22,000,” Johnson continued. However, she says McCorvey felt personally responsible for every single abortion that had taken place in the US since her 1973 case legalised it.

“Now imagine 50 million, 60 million. That’s the burden that Norma carried. A self-imposed burden that she could not shake...that she carried with her until the day of her death. She was a fragile woman. A woman whose life was riddled with heartache. She was shamelessly used by the abortion industry at a young age. She was a vulnerable target for them and that's who they prey on. No one reading this can even understand the mental state of a woman tormented by that burden...especially in the last year of her life,” Johnson wrote.
British MPs introduce Bill to ban abortion on grounds of minor disability ()

A cross-party group of British MPs have come together to bring forward the Abortion (Cleft lip, cleft palate and club foot protection) Bill.

The Bill would change the law to clarify that cleft palate, cleft lip, cleft palate and lip, and club foot are not grounds for abortion in the UK. This would mean that abortions could not occur when the primary diagnosed condition is cleft palate, cleft lip, cleft palate and lip, and club foot. The Bill is being led by Fiona Bruce MP. The issue is of personal significance to her, as her own son was born with club foot. She said:

“The Bill will clarify that cleft lip, cleft palate and club foot are not grounds for abortion. This is a sensible law change that I am inviting all MPs, regardless of where they stand on the wider issue of abortion, to get behind and support. It’s now been 30 years since Parliament last properly reviewed our law on abortion for disability in 1990. It’s time our legislation caught up to reflect society’s positive change in attitudes towards those born with disabilities, and medical advances in the intervening years.

My older son was born with a club foot. He had physiotherapy every day for the first year of his life and had two operations, but now no one would ever know, apart from the most experienced clinician in this field. So I know how such a condition can be corrected. It is hard to think that such a treatable disability could have deprived my son of life, which, now in his mid-20s, he lives to the full."

Seventy-five babies with either a cleft lip or cleft palate as their principal condition were aborted between 2011 and 2018. Sadly, the figures are likely to be much higher, for example a 2013 review by Eurocat showed ([link removed]) 157 babies were aborted for cleft lip and palate in England and Wales between 2006 and 2010. However, the Department of Health & Social Care (DoHSC) recorded only 14 such abortions.

Right To Life UK ([link removed]) has launched the Stand Up and Smile campaign and is encouraging members of the public to visit the campaign page ([link removed] ) where they can ask their MP to support the Bill.

You can read a report from The Guardian newspaper on the Bill here ([link removed])
Read more below and why not get involved in some of our projects and events. If you can, please complete our volunteer survey below. Thank you!
We are thrilled with the number of people who have already registered to complete a 5K run or walk during June to raise much needed funds for support services for women in unplanned pregnancy and new mothers.

If you have already registered to take part, please share it on social media and nominate five others to join you. If you haven't signed up, why not do so today?

All you need to do is commit to doing a 5k walk or run during the month of June.
You can register here ([link removed])

Once you register, you will get an invitation to join the online 'Team' and we will send you out your official LoveBoth fundraising pack including a sponsorship form and t-shirt.

How else can you support the cause?

Whether you are doing the challenge or not you can donate to this this fundraiser here ([link removed])
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With the help of our INCREDIBLE volunteers, we have connected with over 1200 people during the lockdown and continue to keep in touch with those who have requested ongoing calls. We truly are #inthistogether ([link removed]) . We want to sincerely thank all the volunteers who continue to generously give of their time to participate in this initiative.
Are you a secondary school (TY or older) or third level student? Would you like to experience working with a pro-active Human Rights organisation and develop skills in advocacy, campaign management and project planning? We are seeking ‘virtual’ interns to work part-time from home at this time. Internships run for one week periods throughout the Summer. Click here ([link removed]) to find out more and apply instantly!
Our next PLC Network Webinar will take place on June 6th from 11am to 12noon. The theme is 'Striving for Clairity'. Register FREE instantly here ([link removed])

Want to learn how to explain the pro-life position (or advance your knowledge) and skillfully answer challenging questions? Our next PLC Network online Communications Workshop for supporters and activists is on 24th June at 8.30pm. You can register to attend here. ([link removed]) Places are limited.

The fourth Future Leaders Programme is recruiting. It is due to start as an online programme on 4th August 2020. Apply instantly
here ([link removed])

The PLC National Conference is scheduled for late October 2020 in the RDS Concert hall. However given the current situation, we will be reviewing the event and will let you know in plenty of time when registrations open.

Similarly the Annual Dinner for Pro-Life Education was scheduled for June of this year and has been postponed. We will let you know as soon as a date is confirmed.
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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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