Irelands largest pro-life vigil so far took place on
Saturday last June 8th when a record number of people attended the
National Vigil for Life in Dublin to demonstrate that the majority is opposed
to the government’s plans to introduce abortion. The Vigil in Merrion Square
was the largest pro-life demonstration ever seen in Ireland with attendance in
excess of 40,000.
The vigil was addressed by a number of pro-life individuals
from various groups
Caroline Simons of PLC told the meeting;
“The Government must stop misrepresenting its proposed
abortion legislation as restrictive and face up to the dangers in its abortion
plan.
The turnout today shows that the middle ground of Irish
opinion is increasingly concerned about the Government’s abortion legislation,
there are people here who never attended a pro-life event before. The message
is getting through that this legislation is not restrictive or about saving women
and children’s lives, despite the repeated claims by the Taoiseach and his
Government.”
“It’s time for the spin to stop. The medical profession is
radically divided over this because there is nothing evidence-based about the
claim that abortion can be the right response to a suicide threat,” Simons
said. “People’s trust in politicians would “suffer badly the more it appears
that the Government is giving false reassurances.”
“It’s clear from who’s cheer-leading this bill what it’s
really about,” she said, “and that’s abortion on request. This is inevitable,
once a suicide threat is the basis for certifying an abortion.”
Other speakers to address the event were Jennifer Kehoe,
Maria Steen and Íde Nic Mathúna and John Mc Areavey.
