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  • Campaign urging public to CONTACT TDs to keep the 3-day wait ramps up

Campaign urging public to CONTACT TDs to keep the 3-day wait ramps up

Life Institute are ramping up the next stage of our national campaign to keep the 3-day wait - seeking to boost the number of voters calling or emailing their TDs to keep the period of reflection before a woman undergoes an abortion - which has been shown to save up to 1,000 babies a year. 

Over the coming weeks and months, our social media messaging will make hundreds of thousands of impressions, while our volunteers will be going door-to-door and to the public square with a new leaflet urging the public to raise their voices to keep the 3-day wait.   


We've also launched a petition to sign, and a guide for contacting TDs has been made available on the Life Institute website which can be accessed here. 

The government's biased review of the current abortion regime did contain some shocking but unsurprising revelations, including horrific news that babies were being born alive after an abortion, and are most likely not receiving any palliative care.

It was also revealed by Stephen Donnelly that in 2022 alone, 8,500 babies were aborted in Ireland, an increase of 25% from 2021.

During the abortion referendum in 2018, politicians, including Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar promised that abortion would be rare, but the increase in the abortion figures suggest otherwise.

They also promised voters that abortion would be implemented in the country with what they described as restictions or safeguards, including a 3-day waiting period of reflection. Figures show that approximately a thousand babies are saved by abortion each year due to the 3-day period of reflection, giving women the chance to think and seek other options as opposed to abortion.

Yet the abortion review is being used by abortion extremists to push to scrap the 3-day waiting period of reflection, despite it saving so many babies from abortion.

Last year, the billbaords and newspaper ads you made possible reminded our politicians of the promises they made during the referendum, where sources have confirmed that this has made a positive impact on their approach to this aspect of the abortion regime.

Leo Varadkar has stated that he is “uncomfortable” and “reluctant” to accept changes pushed by pro-abortion supporters, whereas sources say that other senior Ministers in the Cabinet have said that they are nervous of voter reaction, and that Fine Gael would be seen as  “reneging” on 2018 promises.

Even Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, an abortion enthusiast and one who has recently pushed for abortion to be more accessible across the country, has said that voters in 2018 "understood it would include a three-day wait" for abortion.

"The outcome of the abortion review was always preordained because only people supportive of abortion were appointed to the process by the government, but the truth is that the real onus is now on TDs - especially those in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who made promises during the referendum regarding the 3-day waiting period and other issues," said Life Institute spokeswoman Megan Ní Scealláin in a press release. 

"We'll be making sure over the coming months that voters know that TDs like Simon Coveney, Micheál Martin, and Leo Varadkar - who pitched the abortion legislation to voters as having safeguards - should be held to that promise," she said.

We'll be running targeted adverts on social media, aimed at TDs in key constituencies, urging that they keep that promise. 

Join us in also calling for the public to reach out to their TDs in person, or via phone/email to urge them to keep the 3-day wait.

    

    

    

Keep the 3-day reflection before abortion

YOUR voice matters. Abortion supporters are pushing hard to scrap the 3-day wait before abortion - even though data from the HSE shows it likely saves up to 1,000 babies a year. 

But TDs are already saying that they are worried voters are opposed to scrapping the 3-day wait - because that would 'renege' on promises made in the referendum. 

So they need to hear from YOU today. 

Tell YOUR TD that: 

  1. The 3-day wait means less abortions according to the HSE's own data - so it MUST be retained
  2. Voters were told the 3-day wait was a 'safeguard' in the referendum - and promised it would be part of the law. 
  3. You can ALSO tell your TD that you are informing other voters that this promise MUST be kept

Find details for your TD below - Call or email them TODAY please. 


PLUS


  • SIGN the petition below to Keep the 3-day Wait Before Abortion 
  • Order Leaflets for distribution below


    

Contact Details for TDs

Write, Email or Phone Your TD

It is better to visit him/her at his clinic than a phonecall; a phonecall is better than a letter; a letter is better than an email. But the most important thing is that you do make your views known to him / her; if they don't  hear from constituents, they think it's a dead issue.

We have found that automated emails are not the most effective way of communicating and we encourage you to write your own email to the public reps in your own constituency. 

   

Find your TD's Details 

   

Sign the petition

Add YOUR voice to this petition urging Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin to make sure the 3-day period of reflection before an abortion is RETAINED. With a shocking 8,500 abortions in 2022, the government should be focused on reducing those rocketing numbers, not driving them up further. 

Data from the HSE shows that an average of 1,000 women a year do not return for an abortion after the 3-day wait. For example, in 2021, there were 8,284 initial consultations regarding abortion - but the number of completed abortions was recorded at 6,683. That means 1,600 women did not proceed. 

The 3-day wait gives women to think - it helps them to choose life instead of abortion. As Doctors for Life said, scrapping that time to think would not just be a betrayal of voters, but a dereliction of duty to women and babies. 

Most reasonable people will think fewer abortions is a GOOD thing - especially now that Stephen Donnelly has said that the number of abortions in Ireland has jumped a shocking 25% in 2022 - with 8,500 abortions in that year. 

And many voters - even many YES voters - remember that Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar and others promised that the 3-day wait would be part of the abortion law in the 2018 referendum. 

Let's hold them to that promise. SIGN the petition today.

   

   

Order Leaflets

publication
Rally for Life + Keep the 3-day Wait

     

More Information

IN 2018, voters were told by both Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney - and others in  the Yes campaign -  that abortion would only be legal under "strict guidelines" including a 3 day period of reflection for a woman seeking abortion.

But, now abortion campaigners want to SCRAP the 3-day wait, even though data suggests it saves up to 1,000 babies every year. Women need that time to think - and they need YOU to speak up so that they have time to choose life over abortion.    

       

A PROMISE

You see, like many people, you may be shocked at the huge rise in abortion in Ireland. There were 6,666 abortions in the first year alone - and more than 30,000 have taken place in just over 4 years - with 8,500 abortions in 2022 according to Stepehn Donnelly.

But according to figures released by the HSE, about 1,000 women change their mind on average during the 3-day reflection period, and don't return to take the abortion pills. 

So scrapping the 3-day wait would PREVENT women choosing life - and make the abortion rate rise further. 

In 2018, Tánaiste Simon Coveney promised voters that abortion would only be legal under "strict guidelines" including a 3 day period of reflection for a woman seeking abortion. 

In fact, he and other Yes leaders, like Leo Varadkar, used the promise of the 3-day wait to convince people to support repeal. 

Don't let them break that promise. Call your TD TODAY.  

    

SAVE 1,000 LIVES

When a woman goes to a GP or a clinic seeking an abortion, the doctor is obliged under law to ask her to take 3 days to think about the decision. 

In 2018, Simon Coveney said that he would not have supported a Yes vote without the 3-day wait because the time for reflection showed "the magnitude of the decision to terminate a pregnancy". 

Since then, information released to Carol Nolan TD  shows that up to 1,000 women every year change their mind in those 3-days. Women need that time to think.

Doctors for Life noted that in 2021: “The state made 8,284 payments for initial consultations regarding abortion with GPs and clinics, but in that period there were a much lower number of completed abortions, recorded at 6,683. That means 1,601 women did not return for an abortion after the 3-day wait. A small number may have sadly miscarried but it certainly looks as if the 3-day wait is leading to fewer abortions – something most reasonable people would welcome.”

According to the HSE,  there were 8,057 initial consultations for Termination of Pregnancy services in 2020. In that year, the Department also confirmed that 6,577 abortions were carried out. That suggests that more than 1,400 women appear to have changed their mind and did not go ahead with an abortion during the 3-day period. 

That means that 18.4% – or almost one in 5 women – did not proceed with an abortion after the initial consultation. 

Similarly, in 2019, some 7,536 initial consultations were provided while 6,666 abortions took place, suggesting that some 870 women or 11.5% changed their mind during the 3 day waiting period.

Medical experts say that "this data offers a hugely important insight that must not be ignored. There are very few Irish people, whether healthcare professionals or otherwise, who would welcome an increase in the number of abortions taking place. If women are finding support for an unexpected pregnancy during the 3-day wait, then that should be welcomed."

 But now abortion campaigners want to SCRAP the 3 day wait. Why would we scrap a law that might HELP women keep their baby?  CALL YOUR  TD TODAY and tell them that they must keep the 3-day wait. No-one wants 1,000 more abortions to take place.    

    

    

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