Without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless

John Smeaton of SPUC BLOGGED this week on an excellent letter which appeared recently in The Connaught Telegraph, in county Mayo.

In view of the importance of the issues it raises I am reprinting the letter in full here below

Letters, The Connaught Telegraph, August 2012

Without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless

Sir,

In a time when politicians get criticised for following the party line without question, I was very pleased that some members of Fine Gael stood up recently and said they were not going to accept abortion.

I'm referring to this month's meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party when a number of Fine Gael representatives challenged the Minister for Health and vowed to vote against abortion legislation.

I was especially glad to see Mayo Fine Gael TD John O'Mahony listed among those who spoke up on this issue.

Based on his defense of the unborn so far I would have no difficulty either voting for him or asking others to vote for him in a future election.

While it seems that Ireland remains an overwhelmingly pro-life country, according to consistent Millward Brown Lansdowne opinion polling, there does seem to be bias among the national media that favours legislating for abortion.

Over 79 per cent of people in Mayo want Fine Gael to keep their pre-election promise. That is considerably more than the 65 per cent that voted for Fine Gael in the last election.

In the same election the pro-abortion Labour party got less than five per cent of the vote. Clearly the people of Mayo support women who are pregnant and they want to see the law reflect this.

I was shocked to see that some member of the Labour party were critical of the Fine Gael TDs and senators. The fact that the Fine Gael party made a pro-life commitment to [T]he [P]ro[-L]ife [C]ampaign prior to the general election is laudable and the fact the Fine Gael deputies feel that they should honour their promise is something Fine Gael should be proud of.

The many arguments that are presented for abortion in Ireland, that it is available in Britain, that is necessary to save the life of pregnant mothers, etc., are all shallow and easily refuted. Women in Ireland receive all necessary medical treatment, even if it indirectly results in the death of the unborn child. This is not abortion because it is not a deliberate attack on the unborn child.

It continues to be a tragedy that Irish women travel for abortions and it's a scandal that women do so because they do not feel they have adequate supports in Ireland.

I hope our politicians will continue to see the need to offer women more and better support services when they are faced with a crisis pregnancy.

Without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless. I congratulate the Fine Gael deputies on their stance and hope that the rest of the Fine Gael party follows suit.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Ryan

Castlebar

Nellie Grey RIP: The Pro-Life Movement Mourns a great leader

The Pro-Life movement is mourning one its outstanding leaders, Nellie Gray who organized the annual March for Life in Washington DC.  May she rest in peace.
The March for Life grew from modest beginnings to being a major annual event and has been emulated in many cities throughout the world. The first March, which was arranged in 1974 had a turnout of around 20,000 and the numbers grew steadily over the years to a point where the Marches routinely drew more than 100,000 people.

I had the pleasure of participating in the March for Life in 2005 and was astounded both by the numbers in attendance and the number and quality of the associated events surrounding the March. One of the most striking features was the enormous numbers of young people who were in attendance.

The sheer size of the March for Life struck terror into the hearts of the pro-abortionists and the media regularly underestimated attendance and if there was even a tiny a counter demonstration gave it equal column space.

National Right to Life in their news letter refer to the observations of the pro-abortion out-going NARAL President Nancy Keenan, when she stepped off a train in Washington’s Union Station a few years back and saw the tidal wave of young people at the annual March.

“I just thought, my gosh, they are so young,” Keenan told Newsweek. “There are so many of them, and they are so young.”

One of the best tributes that could be paid to Nellie Gray would be to ensure that the annual March for Life not only continues but that it should continue to grow until such time as Roe V Wade is overturned and the US becomes a pro-life nation.

Abortion legislation demanded by a small group of Irish academics

The Irish Times August 13^th in its letter page published a letter from John Baker and a group of academics demanding that the Government should legislate for abortion based on the X case, suggesting that access to abortion is necessary for women’s health and decrying the fact that some Fine Gael TD’s had the temerity to oppose Minister James Reilly’s stated intention to do so. The letter also incredibly claims that the people of Ireland voted in favour of the introduction of abortion in the last two referendums.

Their letter however is simply pro-abortion propaganda. These people know perfectly well that access to abortion is not and never has been essential to women’s health and that Ireland without abortion has consistently been one of the safest places for women to have their babies, much better in fact than the UK which has a very liberal abortion regime.

The letter also conveniently ignores the human rights of unborn babies the most vulnerable members of our society and the vital distinction between the direct and intentional taking of the life of the unborn – which is what the term “abortion” refers to – and the indirect and unintended death of an unborn baby which may occur during a procedure carried out to save the life of an expectant mother.

The view of the last two referendums expressed in the letter is erroneous, the decision of the people in both referendums was clearly for the protection of life not the introduction of abortion and the attack on the Fine Gael deputies who are exercising their democratic right to vote in accordance with their consciences is nonsensical. No referendum in Ireland has ever given a mandate for abortion legislation. To suggest that the Irish people have voted in favour of legalising abortion is a gross distortion of the facts.

Contrary to the tirade from Mr Baker and his colleagues, the European Court of Human Rights recognised the legitimate aim of Ireland’s prohibition of abortion for so-called health and social reasons “based as it is on the profound moral views of the Irish people as to the nature of life” and “struck a fair balance” between a woman’s right to respect for her private life and “the rights invoked on behalf of the unborn.” (A, B & C v Ireland: 241) The Court made no recommendation that abortion on any of the grounds listed by Mr Baker should be made available. The Court merely asked this country to clarify its position on the issue and also ruled that there is no such right as a to abortion in the European Convention on Human rights

The conditions set out by Irish Supreme Court in the X-case are extremely narrow ie, a real and substantial threat to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother “which can only be avoided by the termination of her pregnancy…” In reality there is no threat to the life of a pregnant woman, which can only be avoided by abortion. No scientific study has ever shown any medical benefit to abortion but countless studies have demonstrated a link between abortion and a range of medical and psychological problems for women.

For example there is a well-established link between abortion and premature delivery in subsequent pregnancies. Early preterm infants also constitute a majority of those with serious disabilities, including mental retardation, epilepsy, blindness, deafness, lung infections, and cerebral palsy.

Extremely early premature birth, less than 28 weeks gestation, is even more serious, with the highest risk of complications for the infant. For example, the risk of cerebral palsy in extremely early preterm birth is “about 38 times higher than in the overall population of newborns.”( Rooney B and Calhoun C. Induced abortion and risk of later premature birth. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons  2003; 8:(2)46-49 (Accessed March 4, 2007)

Very large studies have demonstrated that the risk of an extremely premature birth doubled after two prior induced abortions. They also found that women who had four or more induced abortions had nine times the risk of extremely premature birth, “an increase of 800 percent.” (ibid)

Evidence of psychological damage is also well established. A large record based study in Finland reported a higher rate of suicide after abortion. Women who had an abortion had a 650 percent higher risk of death from suicide compared to women who carried to term. This study linked actual death certificates to medical records.(Gissler M, Hemminki E, Lonnqvist J. Suicides after pregnancy in Finland: 1987-1994: register linkage study. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1431-4.)

The higher suicide rates after abortion persist for several years and are highest for younger women. This was seen in a large study of more than 173,000 California Medicaid records in which the increased rate of suicide persisted for the 8 years studied, and which was not explained by prior mental illness (at least not during the year preceding the target pregnancy). (Reardon DC, Ney PG, Scheuren FJ, Cougle JR, Coleman PK, Strahan T. “Deaths associated with pregnancy outcome: a record linkage study of low income women,” Southern Medical Journal. 2002; 95 (8):834-841.)

A records based U.K. study comparing suicide attempts before and after abortion indicated the increase in suicide rates after abortion was not related to prior suicidal behavior but was most likely related to adverse reactions to the abortion. (The rate of attempted suicide remained level or decreased before and after pregnancies that resulted in giving birth. But following abortion, the suicide rate increased from a normal baseline to a significantly higher rate. (Morgan CM, Evans M, Peter JR, Currie C. Suicides after pregnancy: mental health may deteriorate as a direct effect of induced abortion. British Medical Journal 1997; 314: 902.) 

There are reports of attempted or completed suicides coinciding with the anniversary date of the abortion or expected due date of the aborted child. (This would tend to indicate a possible causal relationship between the abortion and the suicide or attempted suicide.Tischler C) . Adolescent suicide attempts following elective abortion, Pediatrics 1981; 68(5):670-671.

There is simply no such thing as a life saving abortion. Mr Baker's letter shows a scant regard for the effects of abortion on the lives of women and a total disregard for the human rights of their unborn children.

May we suggest that a group of academics who recognise the importance of protecting innocent life during all stages of pregnancy beginning at fertilisation should also write to the Irish Times setting the matter straight.

Mitt Romney chooses pro-life running mate

The news from the US is that Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has selected Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate. Ryan, who is a Wisconsin congressman is reputed to be strongly pro-life  and has been quoted as saying he would never vote for abortion. Ryan also has an impressive record on other life and family issues.

On the Life Issue Ryan,

• Co-sponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.

• Voted to amend the health care law so that no federal funds may be used to pay for any part of any healthcare plan that offers abortion coverage.

• Voted for the Abortion Pain Bill and the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.

• Voted to prohibit partial birth abortion.

On Marriage Ryan,

• Voted for a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

• Voted against repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

On Religious Liberty Ryan

• Voted for the Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1999.

On Obamacare (the HHS mandate) Ryan is quoted as saying

 “This is much, much bigger than about contraception. This is about religious freedom, First Amendment rights, and how this progressive philosophy of fungible rights of a living breathing constitution really clashes and collides with these core rights that we built our society and country around.”

On Embryonic Life Ryan;

• Voted against the Stem Cell Research Act of 2007, which would have required the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research on embryonic stem cells.

• Voted in favor of developing methods to produce stem cells without using human embryos. 

LifeSiteNews.com reports that Romney introduced the pro-life Catholic as his vice presidential choice at a campaign stop in Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday morning.

In his acceptance speech Ryan said, 

“America is more than a place; it’s an idea. It’s the only country founded on an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not government.”

“We won’t replace our founding principles,” Ryan promised. “We will reapply them!”

Switzerland approves controversial pre-natal test for Down's Syndrome

The Swiss Government has recently legalized a controversial new prenatal test that detects the presence of Down’s Syndrome – a move that could lead to an increase of eugenic abortions in the country.

 

Called “Prenatest,” the procedure will be made available in the country starting this month, according to Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag. It uses blood samples from the mother to detect the presence of Trisomy 21 or Down’s Syndrome in her unborn child.

The German company LifeCodexx, which developed the test, calls it a “safe alternative to traditional invasive methods.” It claims that the test can detect 95 per cent of cases if it is performed in the first trimester.

According to a Daily Mail report the international federation of Down's syndrome organisations has objected to such testing at the European Court of Human Rights.

The federation, grouping 30 associations in 16 countries, said in June that the Strasbourg court should 'recognise the human condition and protect the right to life of people with Down's syndrome and those handicapped'.

According to data from the United Nations, each year between three and five thousand children are born with Down’s Syndrome throughout the world.