13.02.2017: Irish Government must present “positive side of the Eighth Amendment” to UN Committee, says PLC

13.02.2017: Irish Government must present “positive side of the Eighth Amendment” to UN Committee, says PLC

Abortion is, by its very nature, discriminatory – Slattery

The Pro Life Campaign has said that the Irish Government must present the positive case of all the good the Eighth Amendment has done for Irish society at this Wednesday’s hearing before the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

Commenting from Geneva where the hearing will take place, PLC spokesperson Sinead Slattery said:

“The purpose of the CEDAW is to eliminate discrimination against women in any form.  Abortion is, by its very nature, discriminatory as it allows some human beings to be given lesser protection under the law.  The practice of sex selection abortions has also led to widespread discrimination against baby girls in particular and efforts to outlaw this practice have been opposed by abortion providers such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which recently addressed the Citizens’ Assembly.

She continued:

“Ireland has no case to answer when it comes to our abortion laws. An independent report commissioned by the PLC shows that there are tens of thousands of people alive in Ireland today thanks to the Eighth Amendment. That said, it will not be surprising if the UN Committee criticises Ireland on Wednesday for having laws that protect all human beings, both before and after birth.  The pattern for UN Committees of this nature is to castigate countries like Ireland which uphold the right to life, and to ignore the human rights abuses that occur in countries where abortion has become accepted.  Such abuses include babies being born alive in so-called botched abortions, and then being left to die alone in hospitals without any medical care or attention.

“Similarly, women who suffer from abortion regret are discriminated against by abortion advocates internationally who ignore their pain and grief over the loss of their child.  These women are told that their child was nothing more than a “clump of cells”, which is an insensitive way to speak about a child who is deeply mourned.”

She concluded:

“Ireland’s Eighth Amendment has ensured that this type of discrimination against the most vulnerable members of our society is not practiced. It is imperative that the Government present this very positive side of the Eighth Amendment, and to highlight the families who say that their children are alive as a direct result of our life-saving laws.”  

ENDS