History: 2016

Projects in 2016

This past year saw many significant events take place in the ongoing battle to protect mothers and babies from abortion.

Here are the top 10 reasons to celebrate and find hope in 2016!

#1 Precious Life delivered 300,000 pro-life petitions to Stormont: politicians say is ‘historical,' biggest ever.

Each petition was a real signatory, with an address in the North of Ireland! In other words a real petition, and not like the measly 45,000 'petitions' that were gathered from around the world via email like Amnesty's. #savelives #savethe8

#2 Irish High Court rules unborn child has “significant” legal rights

In August, a High Court judge ruled that the word ‘unborn’ in the Irish Constitution means an “unborn child” with rights beyond the right to life which “must be taken seriously” by the State.

Mr. Justice Richard Humphreys said that the unborn child enjoys “significant” rights and legal position at common law, by statute, and under the Constitution, “going well beyond the right to life alone.” Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution, known as the 8th amendment, guarantees the right to life of preborn children, but the judge pointed out that the Constitution obliges the State to protect “all” children and that because an “unborn” is “clearly a child,” Article 42a, guaranteeing additional rights, also applied to all children “both before and after birth.”

Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said that this was a significant ruling that confirmed the unborn baby was deserving of all the rights and protections to which every other person was entitled. She added that the ruling was a blow to those who were seeking to discriminate against children before birth and who argued that the preborn child was not fully human or entitled to human rights.

#3 Polls show most Irish people leaning pro-life

In recent years almost $18 million has poured into the coffers of abortion campaigners in Ireland from US billionaires such as Chuck Feeney and George Soros. This money, and the almost complete support of the Irish media, has boosted the efforts of abortion campaigners who seek to overturn the right to life of unborn babies in Ireland.

However, despite that, recent polls show that abortion campaigners have failed to carry the Irish people with them in their demand for abortion. Polls show support for repealing the 8th falling, and most recently, and Irish Times poll revealed that only 19% of voters supported an abortion-on-demand model. Most voters, some 73%, were either totally or mostly pro-life.

So most voters are leaning pro-life, but some have questions. The Life Canvass (see 10 below) is reaching those voters in the most effective way possible.

#4 Abortion Bills Defeated North and South

Abortion campaigners continue to target babies with disabilities to push for change in abortion laws both North and South in Ireland, but both proposals were defeated in 2016.

In July, TD Mick Wallace’s abortion bill was defeated in the Dáil. The bill, which called for legal abortion in cases where babies were prenatally diagnosed with life-limiting conditions, was an attempt to deny the humanity of unborn babies with disabilities and was a cruel and cynical exercise to push a much wider abortion agenda.

Mattie Mc Grath TD said that “We all need to recognise that there is no monopoly on compassion when it comes to this issue. We all want the best medical and clinical outcomes for mothers and children. In light of that, we need to be guided by the actual medical reality which clearly states that there is no legitimacy to the terms ‘fatal foetal abnormality or ‘incompatible with life.’”

Mr. McGrath joined pro-life advocates from Youth Defence outside the Dail where a mobile billboard touring the city carried a powerful 'Abortion Discriminates. Save the 8th message.’

Similarly, in February, politicians in Stormont voted down two proposals to make abortion available in the north - where the baby was either conceived by sexual assault or had a severe disability. The measures were decisively defeated. The proposal to allow abortion where a baby has a severe disability was defeated by 59 votes to 40. A second amendment to allow abortion in the case of sexual assault was voted down by a two-to-one majority.

Parents of children diagnosed with life-limiting conditions welcomed the defeat of the proposals. Every Life Counts spokeswoman Tracy Harkin said that “Parents actually need better support and care, like perinatal hospice care, instead of abortion. Why don’t we hear politicians and campaigners looking for that?” she asked.

#5 Term “fatal foetal abnormality” rejected by experts

In an enlightening interview with the BBC, Professor Jim Dornan, a prominent and respected obstetrician, confirmed the term ‘fatal foetal abnormality’ is not a medical term - and is not to be found in any medical textbook.

Prof Dornan: “I want to make it very clear, that in our submission, the Royal College [of Obstetrics and Gynaecology’s] submission to yourself Mr. Ford [the then Justice Minister], we made it very clear that we were not happy with the term ‘fatal foetal abnormality.’ It’s in no textbook that I know of. No doctor knows exactly when a foetus is going to die.”

Presenter: So you refer to a fetal abnormality?

Prof Dornan: “Absolutely, and of course, we’re all fatal. I mean, a life of a few minutes can be as perfect as a life of sixty years.”

His statement, and the efforts of parents in groups such as Every Life Counts to have these misleading and discriminatory terms discontinued, was also bolstered by the revelation this year that the Irish Chief Medical Officer told Minister Simon Harris that abortion legislation using that term was unworkable because a doctor did not know how long a baby would live after birth. In August, the Irish Health Service Executive also ceased use of the ‘fatal’ label in its guidelines, replacing it with the term ‘life-limiting condition.’

#6 Pro-life drive to Save the 8th trends n Twitter and in real life

A national campaign opposing the push by abortion campaigners to repeal the pro-life 8th amendment attracted major public attention this year. The Save Lives, Save The 8th campaign used billboards, roadshows, social media, campaign wearables, materials, and more, to remind voters that Ireland’s constitutional protection of life has saved babies’ lives, and offered women a better answer than abortion.

The campaign wearables in particular have caught significant public attention, with Save the 8th sweaters being worn by pro-life politicians, on campus, and in the public square right across the country, ensuring Save the 8th trended on Twitter.

#7 Perinatal Care Conference in Dublin calls for improved care for babies with life limiting conditions.

A major medical conference that took place this past January at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin called for improved care for families where babies were prenatally diagnosed with severe life-limiting conditions. The Perinatal Conference was the first of its kind– and attendees heard from both medical professionals and parents whose children have these serious conditions.

Presentations at the Conference were both informative and inspiring as doctors, nurses, and researchers from all over the world discussed ways to allow severely disabled babies to live with dignity for as long as they can and provide parents with the chance to be parents.

Babies with life-limiting conditions are often targeted for abortion, but this conference truly demonstrated that perinatal hospice is a positive alternative that is better both for these special babies as well as the families that love them.

Dr. Elvira Parravicini, a neonatologist New York Presbyterian Hospital, said it best when she stated, "Before death there is life, and the moment of birth for these families is a moment of joy."

#8 Carphone Warehouse apologises for ‘pro-choice’ adverts

In November, Irish pro-life advocates received an apology from the international mobile provider Carphone Warehouse, who apologized for an offensive “pro-choice” advertising campaign in Ireland.

Those who organized pro-life protests outside Carphone Warehouse, said the climb-down showed that pro-life boycotts and letter-writing campaigns could be effective tools in the battle for Life

Due to the public backlash, Carphone Warehouse pulled the campaign. In a written apology, Sir Charles Dunstone, chairman of Carphone Warehouse, stated: “I am very sorry that our clumsy advertising caused you such offence. I has been stopped and lessons learned. Please accept my sincere apologies."

The All Ireland Rally for Life in Belfast brings thousands out for Life

This year saw major pro-life marches all across the world. Close to home, the All Ireland Rally for Life Belfast was a massive success and despite the rain, thousands and thousands came out to march through the streets of Belfast in defense of life and in support of mothers and babies. It was a beautiful and inspiring sign that Ireland truly is a pro-life country.

“This is the human rights issue of our time, and we will fight for life, and we will win. We will defeat abortion for mother and babies, north and south, across all divides, and we will demand a better answer than abortion, because killing a helpless child cannot be where the answer lies,” Precious Life leader, Bernadette Smyth told the thousands who gathered in Custom House Square.

Earlier in the year almost 5000 people also joined a ‘Pro-Life and Proud’ Rally for Life in Cork calling for the new government to respect the wishes of the pro-life majority.

#10 More than 128,000 homes reached in massive canvass to Save the 8th

This year also saw the strong and steady growth of the Life Canvass in Ireland. The Life Canvass is a powerful grassroots effort to reach out to every home in Ireland to have an honest, one-to-one discussion on the reality of abortion. This year saw more than 128,000 homes reached as pro-life canvassers all over the country volunteered to knock on doors in order to help protect the 8th amendment, which guarantees the equal right to life of mothers and babies in Ireland.

The Life Canvass is truly game-changing as it recognizes the power of reaching out to people individually, providing them with information about the reality of abortion, and acknowledging the serious concerns that they have.

What is truly inspiring about the Life Canvass are the countless canvassers in every corner of the country who give of their time to reach out to their neighbors because they believe that all life, born and unborn, is worth protecting. This national grassroots initiative is reaching the nation to Save the 8th – making 2016 a year of hope and change for pro-life activism.

Thank you for all your support and commitment to the pro-life cause!