As an Irishwoman living and working in London, ‘in exile’, I’m often asked why abortion isn’t legal in Ireland. My response is; "It’s illegal because that is the will of the people."
Throughout our modern history the Irish have chosen to reject legalised abortion. While I can’t speak for the mindset of every individual Irish person, Ireland’s 1937 Constitution legally safeguards life from ‘conception’ to natural death. Can the government of its own volition change the article in the Constitution that protects life in the womb? Absolutely not – without breaking its own laws.
It is necessary for a nationwide referendum to be held and for the people of Ireland to cast a vote. It is the people of Ireland who may use their right to vote on abortion, a right also enshrined by the Constitution. There is no referendum on abortion in the offing, so no formal vote will gauge the population’s stand on abortion in the near future. There are however, varying opinion polls and surveys, and one must be cautious of them – some of them are weighted to get a pro-abortion response and others are more reliable. Let us take two wildly differing poll results and examine them on their merits.
The vitriolic pro-abortion press in Ireland a.k.a. The Irish Times reported a YouGov poll claiming that ‘the majority’ in Ireland support abortion if the pregnancy endangers a woman’s health. But The Irish Times did not report the questions from the survey, the number of people who took the survey and the age grouping of the people questioned. Also, it’s funny that they claim to speak for the majority, when the majority had not heard of the survey before its results were published.
While groups such as the Irish Family Planning Association scream and shout about this secretive poll – interestingly – they don’t ask for a referendum. So one moment they are blaring that the will of the people is obvious on the basis of some poll (of theirs?) and that the laws should change because of this poll. But if ‘they’ are really interested in ascertaining the will of the people, why avoid a referendum? A miniscule poll pales in importance compared to a referendum – that gives the entire voting public a chance to state their will. It’s rather undemocratic to sidestep a referendum – and it’s in defiance of our legal right to vote.
A trustworthy survey conducted in the Republic of Ireland found that 70% of Irish people support the Constitution’s defence of the unborn. It was commissioned by the Pro-Life Campaign and invited participants to state whether they would support or oppose “constitutional protection for the unborn that prohibits abortion but allows the continuation of the existing practice of intervention to save a mother’s life in accordance with Irish medical ethics.” This was a much more intelligently worded survey than the YouGov poll, and used a quota-controlled sample of 950 people over the age of 18.
The results of The Pro-Life Campaign’s survey was announced – publically – in Dublin. Dr. Berry Kiely, a medical doctor commented that the poll is preferable to other polls because it clarifies the distinction between medical interventions for the health of the mother and deliberate abortion “where the life of the unborn child is directly targeted…This is a critical, ethical distinction which abortion advocates constantly seek to blur,” she charged.
It is necessary for a nationwide referendum to be held and for the people of Ireland to cast a vote. It is the people of Ireland who may use their right to vote on abortion, a right also enshrined by the Constitution. There is no referendum on abortion in the offing, so no formal vote will gauge the population’s stand on abortion in the near future. There are however, varying opinion polls and surveys, and one must be cautious of them – some of them are weighted to get a pro-abortion response and others are more reliable. Let us take two wildly differing poll results and examine them on their merits.
The vitriolic pro-abortion press in Ireland a.k.a. The Irish Times reported a YouGov poll claiming that ‘the majority’ in Ireland support abortion if the pregnancy endangers a woman’s health. But The Irish Times did not report the questions from the survey, the number of people who took the survey and the age grouping of the people questioned. Also, it’s funny that they claim to speak for the majority, when the majority had not heard of the survey before its results were published.
While groups such as the Irish Family Planning Association scream and shout about this secretive poll – interestingly – they don’t ask for a referendum. So one moment they are blaring that the will of the people is obvious on the basis of some poll (of theirs?) and that the laws should change because of this poll. But if ‘they’ are really interested in ascertaining the will of the people, why avoid a referendum? A miniscule poll pales in importance compared to a referendum – that gives the entire voting public a chance to state their will. It’s rather undemocratic to sidestep a referendum – and it’s in defiance of our legal right to vote.
A trustworthy survey conducted in the Republic of Ireland found that 70% of Irish people support the Constitution’s defence of the unborn. It was commissioned by the Pro-Life Campaign and invited participants to state whether they would support or oppose “constitutional protection for the unborn that prohibits abortion but allows the continuation of the existing practice of intervention to save a mother’s life in accordance with Irish medical ethics.” This was a much more intelligently worded survey than the YouGov poll, and used a quota-controlled sample of 950 people over the age of 18.
The results of The Pro-Life Campaign’s survey was announced – publically – in Dublin. Dr. Berry Kiely, a medical doctor commented that the poll is preferable to other polls because it clarifies the distinction between medical interventions for the health of the mother and deliberate abortion “where the life of the unborn child is directly targeted…This is a critical, ethical distinction which abortion advocates constantly seek to blur,” she charged.
“Some abortion advocates claim that legalized abortion ‘confronts the reality of crisis pregnancy.’ However, this contention ignores the humanity of the unborn child throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy and the latest research highlighting the negative consequences of abortion for women.” she added.
Learn more about this survey here.
Learn more about this survey here.
Mary O'Regan
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Well said! You might say that we had a "crisis pregnancy", if the two words have any business being put together - but the other side of crisis is opporunity; the other side of unplanned is unexpected; and the other side of accident is surprise.
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