Minister Creighton exercises conscientious objection despite Enda Kenny's threats

Fine Gael Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, following unsuccessful attempts to have the Government “Protection of Life in Pregnancy Bill amended, finally voted yesterday against her own Government Party. In so doing Minister Creighton was automatically expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party and had to relinquish her European Affairs Ministry.

Speaking during the two-day debate on the 165 amendments tabled in relation to the bill Minister Creighton, prior to voting against the measure, told the Dail “the consequences of the legislation are not reversible”. She said the consequences will “change the culture of our country and change how we deal with vulnerable women”. Creighton also appealed to Health Minister James Reilly, asking him to “please listen to the evidence which had been put forward by medical experts during the recent Oireachtas hearings and she asked “please let’s not enshrine flawed logic, flawed legislation on our statue books”. 

At the end of her speech she asked Minister Reilly to accept her amendment calling for a clinical care pathway for vulnerable women who are feeling suicidal.

She continued: “Why are we insisting that abortion, which has no medical grounding, is going to be enshrined in our statue book as the only treatment for women who find themselves in that desperate place?”. I am lost for words because I cannot understand why this proposal is being insisted upon by you and your Government.

Creighton said that while she supports the overall intention of the legislation, which is supposed to be about protecting and saving the lives of women and babies, she said she “cannot support a clause that is essentially built on sand”, referring to section 9 of the bill, which covers suicide.

She alleged this legislation ignores a very recent court case where a woman sought that her deportation order would be quashed on the grounds that if she were to be deported she would take her own life.

When the High Court dealt with the case, Mr Justice Hanna said in his judgement:

“To permit the threat of suicide to act as a stop on the execution of administrative decisions, such as deportation, would be to open a Pandora’s box of potential abuse with the possible effects of paralysing administrative activity in any given area of government.”

Creighton said that to not allow the deportation in this case, but to allow abortion due to the threat of suicide “is entirely inconsistent”.

Ms Creighton had previously expressed the opinion recently that failure to vindicate the life of the unborn could invalidate the legislation “I think the legislation could be struck down for not including a way to vindicate the life of the unborn.” She added her personal conviction that any legislation arising from the Bill should contain amendments guaranteeing constitutional protections for both mother and unborn child.

High Court challenge to Protection of Life in Pregnancy Bill rejected as the Bill is currently under consideration

A last minute attempt was made yesterday to halt the progress of the “Protection of Life in Pregnancy Bill 2013. The challenge related to provisions of the legislation on which the people had previously given their decision in referendum and which consequently could not be altered without referral back to the people. The High Court was President Nicholas Kearns rejected the application on the basis that the issue was currently live in Dail Eireannn but nevertheless entered the challenge into the High Court record. The litigant was told by that since the matter is currently on the floor of Leinster House the courts have no entitlement whatsoever to interfere at this stage.

The litigant Jane Murphy from Dublin approached the bench and submitted papers asking the High Court President for leave to stop the government usurping the will of the Irish people.

In intended proceedings against Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Health Minister James Reilly and the Government, the litigants sought injunctions "to prevent the respondents usurping the will of the Irish people on the basis"that provisions which stand rejected by the Irish people in a referendum cannot be included in proposed legislation, nor can they be voted on by the Oireachtas".

President Kearns said he was satisfied he did not have the jurisdiction to grant any such relief as the matter was the preserve of the legislature. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers the courts have no authority to intervene at this stage, he said.

The Taoiseach, the Minister for Health and the Ceann Comhairle of the Dail were all put on notice in advance that two elements of the bill currently before the House are unconstitutional because they were previously been rejected by the people, who are Sovereign. Independent TD Mattie McGrath also informed the House during the debate on the Bill

The group, which also included former MEP Kathy Sinnott and Richard Green and Mark McCrystal subsequently gave a press conference at the gates of Leinster House.

Mark McCrystal was previously successful in challenging unconstitutional action by the Irish Government in the Children’s Rights Referendum when he was granted a declaration that the State acted wrongfully in spending public money on the website, information booklets and advertisements in relation to the referendum.

All night debate on Ireland's pro-abortion legislation failed to dispose of all amendments

In an unusual twist Dail Eireann decided to continue debate the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill all night and extended its Wednesday sitting until 5am on Thursday morning. This decision was forced on the Dail by the Government despite objections by opposition parties and in the event the debate on this anti life bill did not conclude by the 5am deadline.

Two votes were taken on amendments but since all of the proposed amendments have not been disposed the debate adjourned at 4.57am and will resume at 6pm this evening.

The Dáil has now disposed of the first 10 of the 165 proposed amendments.

While the amendments were debated in themed groups, they are voted on in numerical order.

During the debate Independent TD Mattie McGrath told the House two provisions in the bill cannot be put before the house, constitutionally and it is expected that in due course more will be heard about this assertion.

In the only votes taken so far, Minister Lucinda Creighton who spoke strongly against the suicide provisions within the bill during the debate and is ultimately expected to vote against the legislation actually voted with the Government. we will report more fully on her intervention later.

The first amendment tabled by Minister Creighton is number 22, which was not reached by the 5am adjournment deadline.

Call from Europe for Taoiseach to respect conscientious objection of Fine Gael Party members

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his Fine Gael Party have been challenged by their European partners to respect freedom of conscience, according to a letter from The President of the European Peoples Party (EPP) in the Council of Europe Mr. Luca Volontè

See text of letter here:

                                      

                                                                                                Milano, 9 luglio 2013

Dear Taoiseach,

I am concerned that Fine Gael is not allowing a free vote on the above Bill. Though familiar with the arguments that the Bill will be restrictive, etc., my concern about the manner in which the conscience rights of Fine Gael parliamentarians have been infringed is valid regardless of the merits or otherwise of the legislation.

The values of the EPP are well known, and are based on fundamental, interdependent and universally applicable values, including freedom and responsibility. These values reflect our respect for fundamental human rights. Laws must evolve on the basis of universal respect for man's fundamental and undeniable rights, as defined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man, the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as confirmed in the Lisbon Treaty of 2009. Each of these human rights charters gives prominence to the right of freedom of conscience and thought.

Article 115 of the EPP Party Platform Document adopted by Fine Gael at the EPP Statutory Congress, Bucharest, Romania, 17-18 October 2012, under the heading Freedom and Responsibility, explicitly states: "We consider that it is necessary to respect the right of conscientious objection." The right of conscientious objection is particularly engaged in matters - such as abortion - concerning the fundamental value of all human life (see Article 228 of the EPP Party Platform Document).

Our values should guide the political order (Article 133) and political parties must function in conformity with the rules of internal democracy (Article 229). This surely includes respect for the conscientious integrity of party members.

Respect for freedom of conscience would be meaningless if it applied only to the consciences of those with whom we agree. It is truly tested and demonstrated when respect is shown to the consciences of those with whom we disagree. The judgment of a number of your Fine Gael colleagues that they cannot in good conscience vote in favour of the proposed legislation is one that ought to be respected.

You may not agree with their assessment of the Bill, and its likely consequences. You stated, however, in your speech in Dail Eireann on July l, that if you thought for one moment that this Bill would lead to the creation of a liberal abortion regime in Ireland you would not ask the House to endorse it. And yet Fine Gael parliamentarians are being forced, upon pain of expulsion from their party, to support the Bill despite their sincere belief that the Bill may well usher abortion into Ireland.

To impose such severe penalties on colleagues for voting in accordance with their consciences on such a fundamental matter is alien to the basic values of the EPP.

I hope and trust that you will reconsider, and that Fine Gael will live up to the values that we all profess to share.

Yours sincerely, Luca Volontè

Honorary President EPP Group at PACE Former Chair of EPP Group at PACE Council of Europe

IRELANDS PROPOSED ABORTION BILL WILLL ADVANCE ABORTION AS A HUMAN RIGHT says DANA

Dana Rosemary Scallon, former MEP for Ireland West, warns of the danger that the proposed legislation on abortion in Ireland will facilitate the transition in Europe and the agenda of the United Nations to establish abortion as a human right. Dana says that the right to life is enshrined and this is the objective of an abortion industry that seeks abortion as a human right, under the guise of health problems.

The 1861 Offences Against the Person Act is a law enshrined by an Irish government contained in the  Health Act 1979, Article 10: Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorization -

(A) the obtaining of abortion,

(B) the doing of any other thing the doing of which is prohibited by section 58 or 59 of the Offences against the Person, 1861 (which section prohibits the administration of drugs or using instruments to procure abortion or the provision of drugs or instruments to procure abortion)

(C) the sale, import into the State, manufacture, advertising or display of abortifacients

Dana says that the proposed decriminalization of abortion, by the Irish Government 2013 abortion Bill, and abandonment of the only Statue law protecting life from the moment of existence, (the 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act sections 58 and 59), has been clearly identified for removal and opening the way to abortion as a Human right.

During the recent hearings in Dublin of the Committee on Health formed to discuss the Bill,  Ivana Bacic, Irish senator, said: "I'm glad it was stressed that the decriminalization could be achieved through the repeal of sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the person;

"Dr. Rhona Mahony, the National Maternity Hospital, said:" It 'was in 1861 that crimes against the person, in particular sections 58 and 59, ruled that abortion was a crime in Ireland; "

Ms Orla O Connor of the National Women's Council of Ireland said" "the penal provisions of the law are an important factor for chilling ...

"Jacinta Fay Choice Ireland said," we recommend the repeal of sections 58 and 59 of that Act "

Ms Ailbhe Smyth Action X said," With her colleagues [Choice Ireland] and  [National Council of Women of 'Ireland] Action X asks the immediate repeal of sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, "

She went on to say," we agree with the opinion of the European Court of Human Rights and Dr. Rhona Mahony that chilling effect that the 1861 law is a significant barrier to women. "

This 1861  & enshrined 1979 law is a pro-life all Island law of Ireland, which combines the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland in the fight against abortion. Malta, like Ireland, also makes abortion a criminal offense. The Atorney General for Northern Ireland, John F Larkin QC, said October 16, 2012 that "abortion in Northern Ireland is a matter governed by the law ... criminal abortion in Northern Ireland is a criminal offense. . "

Dana pointed out that Irish politicians have both a duty and a right, under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights ["The right of citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions"] and Article 40 . 6. 1 of the Irish Constitution, ["The State guarantees liberty for the exercise of the following rights, subject to public order and morality:"] to ensure the freedom of expression with regard to the proposed Bill 2,013 Irish abortion.

Dana says that the Irish people, who are sovereign, should not be reduced to a state of "lobby group" and we have already rejected abortion in three referendums. The Irish  people must not be crushed or secularized out of the public square by a new moral order that seeks to impose its authority.

Dana commented on the uniqueness of the  Irish Constitution which states in its preamble:

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to whom, as our final end, all actions of men and States must be referred,

We, the people of Ireland,

Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, who suffered our fathers through centuries of trial,

Recalling with gratitude their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation,

And trying to promote the common good, in respect of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with the other nations,

We adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

Dana also refers to Article 6 of the Irish Constitution:

"All the powers of government, legislative, executive and judicial, derive, under God, from the people, whose right it is to designate the rulers of the state and, ultimately, to decide all questions of national policy, according to the needs of the common good."

Article 40 ° 3.3 of Ireland’s Constitution

"The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as possible, by its laws to defend and vindicate this law. "

Article 44.2. 1 of Ireland’s Constitution

"freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed to every citizen."

Article 46. 2. Of Ireland’s Constitution

"Any proposal to amend the Constitution shall be initiated in Dáil Éireann as a Bill, and, upon having been passed or deemed passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, be submitted by Referendum to the decision of the people in accordance with the law for the time being in regulations relating to the referendum. "

Dana says that the unique role that the Irish Constitution gives in the protection of life from the moment of its existence must not be set aside and that abortion must not be decriminalised.

Politicians, Statesmen and the legal system have a duty to be courageous and effective in their defence and promotion of the sanctity of Human Life – the foundation of all other Human Rights.