The 8th Amendment ensures the equal right to life
and importance of all Irish citizens – both the life of the mother and the life
of her baby.
I have listened very carefully to the testimonies of Irish
women who face a crisis pregnancy and I believe we need to work far harder to
find better and more civilised ways to respect and understand their circumstances and concerns in this difficult
situation. Despite all of the conversation and debate surrounding the 8th
Amendment, the only government report commissioned to identify
the factors which contribute to the incidence of unwanted pregnancies and the
issues which resulted in women choosing the option of abortion was in 1995 (Women and Crisis Pregnancy Mahon, Conlon and Dillion).
We need a new report and we need a truly
enhanced and sincere pro-women environment where women don’t feel like they
have no other choice than the option of abortion. I care about women’s rights very
deeply and it is my view that women should not have to decide between having
their baby or finishing college; having their baby or choosing their career;
having a baby or paying unaffordable childcare costs.
I find it deeply
disturbing that should a women experience regret, distress or physical side
effects following this procedure, such as preterm birth in her next pregnancy;
she is told that it is her fault. She is told that she either has a severe
mental illness, she was coerced into the procedure by someone else or she had a
negative attitude to abortion to begin with. No accountability is taken by
those who carried out the abortion even if the procedure results in her dying
in the back of a taxi. Liberalising abortion does not solve the underlying
issue, it merely masks it and in my view, women deserve better than this.
We have shown the world that we are a humane society which
stands up for the rights of every individual, especially minority groups. The 8th
Amendment is a proof point of this as it ensures that each human being in any Irish
hospital is given equal medical care and goodwill regardless of their health,
their ability and their gender. This is
not the case in many countries where children who have been given a diagnosis
before they are born of potentially having a life limiting condition, a
disability or they are simply identified as being female. Whether they are allowed to be born is
something which will be decided upon at the discretion of another.
We cannot deny the devastating effects that this would have
on our society should we repeal the 8th Amendment and liberalise
abortion. We only have to look to other countries to see the devastation that
abortion wreaks on human dignity. One in every four human lives are ended in England
and Wales before they’ve had a chance to be born. Denmark has set itself a goal
to be Down Syndrome free by 2030 and over 160 million baby girls are aborted in
countries and cultures where baby boys are revered more highly than baby girls.
To infer that abortion can be restricted is misleading for many reasons. One
example of this is the interpretation of wording e.g. in England and Wales, a cleft
palate and club foot are deemed “severe disability” and therefore any baby
diagnosed with those conditions can be aborted right up until birth.
I am in favour of choice…but I don’t know any human being
that would choose the ending of their own lives, often times very violently, at
someone else’s discretion. So if we wouldn’t choose it for ourselves, then why
choose it on behalf of the smallest, youngest most vulnerable in our society?
The unborn don’t have a voice, they’re too small. They need
yours and they need the protection of the constitution and it is for this
reason that I’m going to be there on June 4th to help celebrate the
8th Amendment and find out how I can use my talents to help protect
this life-saving provision.
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