White crosses memorial held in Dungarvan ‘to remember babies aborted’

A memorial for unborn children whose lives have been ended by abortion has heard that these lives should be remembered.

The annual memorial, which organisers say is held for the babies aborted in Ireland since repeal of the Eighth Amendment in 2018, took place in Dungarvan Town Park.

Vicky Wall of Every Life Counts addressed the event said that families who had been given a diagnosis of a life-limiting condition for their unborn child needed better support and information. “Our children need us to fight for them,” she said.

Becky Kealy of Aontú (Cork North West) said that pro-life people were needed in Dáil Éireann to fight for the right to life, but also for housing and education rights, as these are all connected. She said that, while the public voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment, they did not vote for the extreme abortion regime where we ended up with more than 20,000 abortions in the first three years.

Ms Kealy highlighted what she said were some “of the worst features of the abortion regime”, such as the absence of provision for foetal pain relief, and the failure to safeguard the rights of medics to conscientious objection, and said that women are “being kept in the dark about positive alternatives to abortion”.

She said that support for the pro-life cause among Irish voters was far greater than the media reported: that the referendum vote in 2018 showed that it was actually more than one out of three voters. “The growth of Aontú in Ireland, and the latest developments in America, are evidence that the abortion issue is far from settled,” Ms Kealy said.

Dr Ronan Cleary, Chairman of Doctors for Life, attended the rally with his two children, the youngest an eight-month old baby girl. “Doctors for Life is a non-profit advocacy group consisting of doctors and nurses who believe in the fundamental right to life of the unborn child and oppose any measures which seek to undermine the value and importance of the life inherent in all of us. We are advocates for life from conception until natural death”.  Dr Cleary also read aloud the poem “Unto us..” by Spike Milligan.

Fr John McEneaney spoke of the need for prayers of reparation. He read aloud Psalm 139, which includes the lines “Truly you have formed my inmost being, You knit me in my mother’s womb, I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made”. He concluded with the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing on all attending.

Déise4Life, who organised the memorial, commented: “This was a wonderful, quiet remembrance of the babies we have lost to abortion. The white crosses signify the innocence of the unborn, and the lack of respect for many of their remains, the many who do not get a proper burial or resting place.  Also, we remember the anguish suffered by mothers and families, who feel that they have no hope or other alternatives. We thank sincerely all who spoke at the rally, and all who attended.”

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This piece was first published on Gript.