Why external organisations must not be allowed to tell Ireland how to protect its most vulnerable ... by Cora Sherlock

We’ve become quite used to various prochoice groups in Ireland chanting their slogan “repeal the 8^th” as if it were a mantra for a new, enlightened time rather than a means to erase the basic right to life of an entire group of human beings from our Constitution.

But recent events have shown a new, sinister development – the emergence of external groups who are trying to influence the Irish Government on whether or not to hold a referendum on abortion.

Last week was a prime example of this. The UN Human Rights Committee criticised Ireland’s abortion laws, saying that they are “cruel, inhuman and degrading” according to Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The UNHRC has a shocking record when it comes to protecting human beings damaged by abortion. It has never taken countries like England and Canada to task for the appalling abuse of denying medical treatment to babies who survive abortion.  It ignores the rights of these babies not to be subjected to “torture” as outlined in Article 7. In its remarks last week, this same Human Rights Committee didn’t bother mentioning the fact that Article 6 of the ICCPR states that “Every human being has an inherent right to life.”

The bottom line is that the UN Human Rights Committee is more and more becoming a parody of a group that is genuine about its commitment to the protection of human beings.  It no longer speaks from a strong foundation of human rights protection.  The Irish Government should not feel pressured to adhere to its commandments.  Yes, it’s true that we signed up to the ICCPR but we didn’t sign up to be beaten into submission on the issue of protecting the right to life of unborn human beings by a group that no longer respects the intrinsic dignity and worth of every human being living in our society.

Let’s move on to look at the group that helped this complaint make its way to the UNHRC – the Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRR).  This is a global abortion lobby group.  The only reason for its existence is to introduce abortion where no abortion takes place.  Its website even has an interactive map highlighting how far individual countries have “progressed” towards the CRR’s ultimate goal of unrestricted abortion (Ireland is coloured "red", presumably because we're not playing ball).

It goes without saying that the Irish Government should not be swayed or influenced by this international, well-funded and focused lobby group.   But the fact remains that the CRR was in Dublin last week, supported by a number of prochoice groups as it pushed forward with its global agenda and causing a media frenzy that continued for several days.  

Why should we, the Irish public, care about the intentions of a foreign abortion lobby group that acts in this way, helping to bring a complaint to the UNHRC against the Irish Constitution?  The answer of course is that we shouldn’t.  Just as we shouldn’t care about the interference of the UNHRC which produced a report that resulted in an appalling criticism of matters that have been decided by the Irish public. 

In an even more brazen attack on our right to decide such sensitive matters for ourselves, the UNHRC produced a “Questions and Answers” session on its website, presumably to reassure anyone in Ireland who might feel a bit uncomfortable about being told that we have to give up on this wild notion we have that human lives shouldn’t be ended – even when a “Human Rights Committee” tells us otherwise. 

When asked whether the UNHRC were “telling Ireland to introduce abortion”, one of the Committee members, Sarah Cleveland said that “with respect to the Irish electorate”, the Committee had been presented with different perspectives on the opinions of the Irish public.

But here’s the problem – the UNHRC seems to have forgotten that it’s the Irish electorate who decides the laws of this country.  Not the UNHRC.  Not the CRR. And these comments, not to mention the entire report, show a complete disregard for the will of the People when it concerns the protection of unborn human beings, enshrined in the Constitution.  We’re relegated into the place of second class citizens behind these groups that claim to tell us how to protect human rights in our country.

Of course, we shouldn’t pay too much heed to the comments.  After all, in the very next sentence of this reply, Ms. Cleveland expounds on what is perhaps one of the best explanations of why the right to life must be protected, regardless of campaigns to remove it:

“But fundamentally, human rights are not the subject of public opinion polls.  Human rights exist precisely to protect individuals whose rights may not be adequately respected by the majority.”

Luckily in Ireland, we’ve known this for some time.  Since 1983 to be exact, when we took steps to acknowledge the rights of vulnerable human beings in Irish society and enshrined the 8^th Amendment in the Constitution. It is now vital that the Irish Government remembers the importance of this act and stands firm against any attempts to initiate a referendum, particularly those that originate outside the State from international lobby groups or UN Committees that are human rights protectors in name only. 

When a Human Rights Committee abandons human beings...by Cora Sherlock

To listen to some abortion advocates over the past few days, you would be forgiven for thinking that we were dealing with a court with full jurisdiction and authority over Ireland. This is not the case.  The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) is simply that – a Committee.  It does not have the right to impose its views on Ireland.

The Committee came to its conclusion based on its interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and specifically Article 7.  That provides that “no-one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.  This is the headline which is receiving blanket coverage in the Irish media and is being used by abortion advocates to push the case for a referendum to remove the 8^th Amendment which guarantees that unborn babies have an equal right to life under Irish law.

There are two important points to be borne in mind.

The first is that the HRC simply doesn’t have credibility to discuss “torture” in the abortion issue. This is because of how it constantly ignores other instances that would stand out as examples of extreme torture, caused by the abortion procedure.  For example, the case of babies who survive abortions when they’re not meant to.  Melissa Ohden spoke about this sick phenomenon in Dublin last weekend and the situation where, (in her words), “babies born alive after botched abortions are abandoned as they gasp for breath and struggle to stay alive.”

This happened to 66 babies in one year alone according to official records in England and Wales.  It happened to over 400 babies in Canada over a 10 year period.  This type of inhumane treatment of newborn babies amounts to “torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” by anyone’s reckoning – except maybe the HRC.  They have certainly never publicly challenged this practice.  They have never criticised the countries that have allowed this horrific abuse to take place.  They have simply stayed silent.

Silent too has been Amnesty International, who were once a watchdog for all those who threatened the rights of human beings.  Instead, they have fallen in line with a twisted notion of “human rights” which allows international bodies to push for laws that will allow lives to be ended.

This brings us to the second reason why everything this Committee says should be considered as a partisan comment.  They don’t look at the bigger picture.  There is no mention in their report of any rights that unborn babies might have.  As far as the HRC is concerned, the baby’s rights count for nothing.  This is despite the fact that Article 6.1 of the ICCPR states that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law.  No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

This is a very strong statement of the right to life of “every human being”, and one that doesn’t distinguish between “born” and “unborn” human beings.   Article 6.5 provides for the death penalty to be imposed on some individuals but notes that it is not to be carried out on pregnant women. Regardless of how you feel about the death penalty (and I oppose it), anyone reading this section of the ICCPR will see that its authors made a distinction between pregnant women, and non-pregnant women.  They recognised that there was another human being involved – an unborn baby who could not have taken part in any crime and who should not have their life ended via the death penalty.

The Preamble to the ICCPR talks about how “the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” 

Yesterday’s comments prove just how far the HRC have drifted from genuine human rights.  Their viewpoint is so narrow that they have completely ignored the Article in the ICCPR which highlights the most basic human right, the right to life. The unborn baby doesn’t even get a look in.  His or her rights are completely ignored. There is no attempt to acknowledge the fact that a pregnant woman and her baby are two individuals who are each entitled to rights under the law.

The Irish Constitution doesn’t have this kind of narrow focus.  Thanks to the 8^th Amendment, it protects the lives of all human beings in Ireland. In that sense, it is far more in line with the true intention of the ICCPR and what should be the goal of international human rights protection the world over – protecting the lives of every human being, born and unborn. It’s a sad state of affairs when this kind of positive protection is criticised by a Committee claiming to speak out for human rights. 

Why it's important to Celebrate the 8th...by Mary O'Toole

The right to life is the most basic of human rights. The 8th amendment assures the equal right to life of mother and baby.  Without the 8^th in our Constitution the right to life of the unborn child no longer exists. We need to openly support the retention of the 8^th amendment in our constitution to make it very clear where we stand. Nodding agreement is not enough. It’s high time we all leave our easy-chairs and take to the streets; high time to shout with one voice for the voiceless that all human life is sacred.

In the interest of the common good, it is very important to be actively pro-life. It is impossible to further the common good if we do not vehemently and courageously defend the right to life, upon which all other rights are predicated. Life is often tough, but it is always precious. Life not only deserves, but also demands, our protection at all its stages. To promote the common good we must promote the culture of life. Too often, abortion is portrayed as the caring response to a crisis pregnancy, thus seeking to confuse our natural human sense of compassion and concern for others. The truth is that such a culture of ‘choice’, taken as a whole, embodies a concept of individual freedom which inevitably ends up backing the ‘choice’ of ‘the strong’ over the weak and defenceless.

Make no mistake about it, those who seek to remove the 8^th know very well how effective it is in protecting the life of the unborn. Whatever the excuses given, they want to remove the 8^th precisely because they want to remove the right to life of the unborn. Just under 1 in 4 pregnancies in the UK end in abortion. The US is no different. The only thing preventing us from these horrific figures in Ireland is the 8th amendment. If we remove this life-saving provision there is no reason to believe that our statistics would be any different. 

The 8^th amendment acknowledges that there are always two lives to take into consideration when it comes to abortion; that of the child as well as that of the mother. This is a very important recognition of the dignity of all human life, and a very genuine expression of care and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society. Real equality must include everyone. Please come out on the 4th of June and join the march to celebrate the 8^th. It is truly well worth celebrating!

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