Independent TD Mattie McGrath has said the introduction of an amendment to the Protection of Life Bill 2013 by Deputy Clare Daly must be used as an opportunity to highlight the broader abortion agenda that is being pursued in the State. Deputy McGrath was speaking after Deputy Daly introduced a Fatal Foetal Abnormality amendment under new rules governing such procedures. The new procedures allow a member to speak for five minutes without opposition on any amendment they introduce. While the Government accepted the Amendment for discussion it in no way implies that the Government supports the motion being sought: “It must first be acknowledged that this was one of the most particularly sensitive and emotive elements of the debate on abortion which he had some months ago. During those debates there were many submissions made by both members of the Oireachtas and interested parties who sought to have the grounds for an abortion extended to include unborn children with Fatal Foetal Abnormalities. Such an amendment was not accepted then and I do not believe it should be accepted now. While compassion for the trauma that such a situation brings must be given to the families concerned, I do not believe it is possible to provide such an amendment without essentially giving rise to an abortion on demand regime. I would suggest that instead of targeting what may be an extremely sick child in the womb that we put our efforts into providing therapeutic services in place that will enable the mother and the family to continue the pregnancy in as supportive an environment as possible. We know from the research available to us that far from alleviating mental distress in these circumstances that having an abortion actually increases the likelihood of profound and lasting psychological pain.”The Amendment comes on foot the action being taken by three Irish women who have lodged a complaint against Ireland to the UN on the grounds that they were unable to abort their fatally handicapped babies in Ireland and who are being helped by one of America’s leading pro-abortion groups, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR). The organisation favours ultra-liberal abortion laws. It is opposed to bans on ‘partial-birth’ abortions and sex selective abortions:
“The fact this amendment is being actively and vigorously supported by the likes of the CRR is deeply worrying and at the very least indicates that there is a broader agenda at play here. For now at least there is slim chance of the Amendment passing and that is be welcomed. I would be very concerned however that support for it may grow given the history of this Taoiseach to back track on any statements he has made on the abortion issue. It is certainly an amendment that I will be following closely because we need to keep the focus on not allowing any extensions to this abortion bill which is bad enough as it is,”concluded Deputy McGrath.
ENDS
