Minister Reilly’s amendment to abortion bill “adds insult to injury”, says Dr Ruth Cullen

Minister Reilly’s amendment to abortion bill “adds insult to injury”, says Dr Ruth Cullen

7th July 2013

“The Minister for Health’s recent offering of an amendment to preserve the life of the unborn ‘as far as practicable’ just adds insult to injury because it is so meaningless,” says Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro Life Campaign.

“It just restates what’s already there and will have absolutely no effect when it comes to a woman who says she is suicidal. It remains the case that the Government is preparing to pass legislation that is not evidenced based and will certainly lead to the destruction of unborn human life. It also has the potential to put women’s lives at risk as the adverse effects of abortion on women are being ignored.

“It is appalling the way Fine Gael TDs are being bullied to vote for this bill. Pro-life people have lobbied their TDs to vote against the bill which is perfectly legitimate in a democracy. But the Fine Gael leadership is asking its TDs to vote against their consciences. That’s an entirely different matter. To force someone to vote against their conscience is a despicable and inexcusable thing to do,” Dr Cullen concluded.