Hundreds of people attended each of the regional March For Life events in Cork, Galway and Donegal. Abortion advocates predicted that only a handful of people would turnout altogether but pro-life supporters in all three regions gave them their answer! Every pro-life campaigner acknowledges that these are very challenging times for the movement but the numbers that turned out to last weekend’s marches and the palpable sense of enthusiasm and commitment at all three events really does offer tremendous hope for the future. A huge thanks to everyone who attended the marches and a special word of thanks to the excellent speakers and volunteers who made it all happen!
Watch short time lapse video of the three Marches here
A highly partisan academic with a history of campaigning for abortion both in Ireland and internationally has been appointed to lead a research project for the Government’s three year review of the abortion law.
Earlier this week, the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly confirmed Dr Deirdre Duffy’s appointment in reply to a parliamentary question submitted by the independent TD for Cork South-West, Michael Collins.
Dr Duffy, who is based in Manchester Metropolitan University, describes her work as drawing heavily on “abortion activisms, abortion trails, and reproductive justice.”
The Pro Life Campaign has described the appointment “as final proof that the Minister for Health has no intention of ensuring an objective and even-handed review of the abortion law.”
Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said: “Deirdre Duffy’s history of campaigning in favour of abortion in Ireland and globally appears to be her chief qualification for this role in the eyes of Minister Donnelly. She is entitled to her opinions but Stephen Donnelly has no mandate to conduct a review entirely overseen by pro-abortion campaigners, without even a hint of concern for fairness or objectivity.
“Pro-life supporters were right to contribute to the process by sending in submissions to the review before the closing date. It’s always important to ensure the rights of unborn babies and their mothers are represented. But these submissions should not be taken as a sign that we believe the process is being conducted in good faith. The outcome is clearly preordained by the Government and Dr Duffy’s appointment is just further confirmation of this.
“Dr Duffy refers to pro-life people as ‘anti-choice’ and her social media posts are littered with ideological diatribes and intemperate language towards opposing viewpoints. It is certainly not what one would expect from a researcher that was supposed to be scrupulously independent in their work. Her ideologically blinkered approach clearly inhibits her ability to carry out her part of the review in a fair and objective manner.
“It would appear most of Dr Duffy’s research has already been completed and was published on 9 May 2022 in an article ‘Abortion policy implementation in Ireland’ in PLOS journal. The article advocates scrapping the life-saving three-day waiting period, making telemedicine abortion permanent, and calls for the further curbing of freedom of conscience protections for healthcare workers who don’t wish to be involved in abortions”, Ms Mulroy concluded.
Responding to the news of Dr Duffy’s appointment, which was first revealed this week in reply to his parliamentary question, Deputy Michael Collins said: “It beggars belief that someone with such strident and outspoken views in favour of abortion would be tasked by the Minister for Health, at taxpayers’ expense, to oversee research that’s meant to inform a supposedly neutral review of the abortion law. Even a simple Google search reveals how highly skewed and partisan Dr Duffy’s contributions to the abortion debate are. From the start of this process, Minister Donnelly has done nothing to make it fair and impartial. In fact, every step he has taken appears designed to achieve a particular outcome favourable to the most extreme elements of the pro-abortion lobby. There’s no point waiting to guess what the final outcome will be. It’s abundantly clear that there is no respect for democratic accountability or fairness in this process. That has to be brought to the public’s attention.”
A 23 year old woman has pleaded guilty in Derby Crown Court to pretending to be pregnant so she could access abortion pills for her lover who wanted to trick his girlfriend into taking them.
Georgia Day lied to her doctor claiming she was pregnant in order to gain access to the pills. She then gave the abortion pills to her lover who had planned on starting a family with his girlfriend but changed his mind.
Day was having an affair with the man when he sought the pills. He offered to pay a substantial sum to acquire them after his girlfriend refused to get an abortion. In the end, Day agreed to obtain them for him free of charge.
After a trial, he was found not guilty of conspiracy to procure the abortion pills but his co-accused Day, pleaded guilty to the charge.
The entire story highlights another dreadful truth about legal abortion and the way it undermines respect for human life and places pressure on women to end the lives of their babies against their expressed wishes. This latest story also shows how telemedicine abortion which does not necessitate a face to face consultation between the woman and a medic prior to the abortion inevitably leads to situations where abortion pills are accessed for the sole purposes of coercing or duping women into abortions they never wanted.
It’s remarkable how little coverage the media gives to stories like this one. Anything that challenges their ‘liberating’ abortion narrative must be suppressed at all costs it seems, for fear it might prompt people to ask questions.
Click here to send ready-to-go message to your local TDs calling on them to press the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to stop sanctioning the dangerous practice of telmedicine‘DIY’ remote consultation home abortions in Ireland.
Well done to Senator Sharon Keogan for her excellent contribution in the Seanad last Thursday regarding the massive risks posed by telemedicine abortion for women suffering domestic abuse and intimidation. You can watch Senator’s Keogan’s contribution here.
The Pro Life Campaign is strengthening its call to members of the Oireachtas to press the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to stop sanctioning the dangerous practice of ‘DIY’ remote consultation home abortions.
In a shocking new finding, 15% of women in the UK (aged 18-44) said they experienced pressure to go though with an abortion they didn't want to have. The finding are contained in research conducted for BBC Radio 4. The HSE here in Ireland acknowledged in a recent answer to a parliamentary question that coercion more likely to occur when abortion consultations happen remotely.
Take a moment to send an instant message to the Minister For Health urging to immediately stop telemedicine abortions now that the Covid 19 measures have been eased in every other area.
Click here and take 2 minutes to read and send the ready-to-go message.
Would you like to experience working with a pro-active Human Rights organisation?
If you would like, APPLY HERE to our exciting virtual intern programme for students!
Participants on the programme will have an opportunity to network with other young people and develop skills in advocacy, campaign management and project planning.
Internships run for one-week periods and are suitable for second level (Transition year or older) and third level students.
Each intern will do 4 hours supervised work each day and will be working on areas such as social media, contact with members of the movement nationwide, project planning and contributing to support work for women and their babies.
Internships are not paid, however expenses will be covered.
If you or a family member is interested, please complete the below form and we will be in touch with you presently. Placements are subject to availability.
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]
