Six Reasons Pro-Life Advocates Should Celebrate This Year

Opinion   |   Niamh Ui Bhriain   |   Dec 27, 2011   |   12:23PM   |   Dublin, Ireland

Six reasons for the pro-life cause to celebrate this Christmas:

6. The abortion industry is being exposed

The dirty secrets of an industry that profits from killing babies and harming women are being laid bare.

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In the US, investigations by Lila Rose, Operation Rescue and others have revealed that abortion providers are turning a blind eye to statutory rape; are open to assisting pimps to use underage prostitutes; and are willing to accept donations that are to be spent on racist programs.

And the revelations are global. The horrific truth about what abortion doctors do to women and babies are making headlines right across the world, despite the best efforts of the media and the abortion industry to excuse and cover up what’s happening.

Increasingly, people are aware that abortionists are killing and maiming women. Just weeks ago, Youth Defence revealed that the British abortionist who was struck off for causing the near-death of an Irish woman at a clinic in Ealing had a history of association with malpractice which would have been difficult to conceal from his employers at Marie Stopes. The media might try to downplay the damage being caused to mothers and babies but the knowledge is spreading, especially on social media and internet news outlets.

Women who have been maimed and ill-treated are suing for damages – and the public fallout from cases like that of abortionist Kermit Gosnell is helping to bringing more and more people to the realisation that every abortion clinic is a house of horrors.

5. We’re moving towards a ban on embryo research

It seems as if that a perfect storm is building against embryonic stem cell research (ESCR)- and the mounting evidence increasingly supports a ban on the controversial experiments which use and destroy human life.

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The California-based Geron corporation, which has always been a leading proponent of research on human embryos, made a shock announcement in November that it was halting their first clinical trial involving embryonic stem cells and a human patient

But now Geron has said it is halting that trial, and departing from ESCR altogether. Its departure has exposed the false hope offered to patients by proponents of experiments on human embryos.

Meanwhile, the good news is that adult stem cell successes continue to amaze the world and attract investment. Just days after Geron’s announcement, the Lancet reported that adult stem cells taken from a patient’s own heart have been successfully used to repair damaged heart tissue, while an Australian research company, Mesoblast Ltd, also showed that patients with heart failure could reduce the risk by as much as 80 percent using an experimental adult stem-cell treatment.

What’s been clear from 2011 then is that – despite the hundreds of millions poured into it by the Obama administration and private investors – embryonic stem cell research destroys human life and offers no cures. Now we need to push harder for a ban on experimenting on human embryos.

4. Ireland without abortion is STILL the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby.

And that’s official. A joint report issued this year from the United Nations and the World Health Organisation confirm, yet again, that Ireland is the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby.

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Ireland’s ban on abortion is a thorn in the side of the abortion industry, in particular since the benefits accruing to mothers and babies exposes the lie at the heart of abortion campaigns.

Clearly, since Ireland, without recourse to abortion, is the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby, there is no medical necessity for abortion.

That’s because it never saves a mothers life, it just kills a baby.

3. The rise and rise of young pro-life activists

Twenty years ago when we founded Youth Defence we were told that the pro-life movement was dying on its feet.

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But now, as we can see right across the globe, young pro-life leaders are taking the lead and invigorating the movement to protect human life.

A new activist model is being embraced by young pro-lifers right across Europe, in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Like Youth Defence, they aim to be engaged, articulate and innovative. Most of all, they are determined to awake the conscience of their generation and to end the abortion holocaust.

Last month Íde Nic Mhathúna of Youth Defence summed it up for a packed conference of pro-life youth leaders when she said:

“Every year, there are literally millions of children silently crying out and begging for somebody to help them, somebody to give them mercy. And we have to decide if that somebody is going to be us, or if we’re going to just ignore their cries. Because even when you can’t hear them it doesn’t mean they’re not there. I cannot stand before God when I die, look Him in the eye, and say to Him that I was too busy to do this or it just wasn’t my thing.”

This is the generation that will END abortion.

2. The Irish people rejected abortion demands at the UN

Because Ireland is one of just two countries in the western world which bans abortion, the international pressure to smash our pro-life laws is tremendous.

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In 2011, a concerted effort was made to use a United Nations human rights ‘review’ of Ireland to attack our ban on abortion.

But the pro-life majority fought back and made the voice heard loud and clear.

At the UN hearing, countries like Britain, Denmark and Spain slammed Ireland for protecting our mothers and babies from abortion. Our Minister for Justice gave a pretty feeble response, but the response from the public meant that the government had no choice.

They rejected the demands made at the UN hearing. The pro-life majority will decide Ireland’s abortion laws. And we will remain ever vigilant.

1. The pro-life message is growing – and growing fast

The numbers don’t lie. Millions of people – and young people in particular – are seeing and hearing the pro-life message.

Life Institute and Youth Defence’s assorted offerings have more than 30,000 members on Facebook, and almost 300,000 people have viewed on our internet videos.

It’s a global trend. Groups like Live Action have reached the giddy heights of a quarter of a million facebook members, while pro-life bloggers like Jill Stanek and Bryan Kemper capture the attention of an enormous amount of readers.

And the frontline work continues. With our sister organisation, Precious Life, we’re committed to bringing pro-life education to the people on the streets, answering their questions, changing hearts and minds, saving babies’ lives.

It’s why the Rally for Life doubled in size this year. It’s why Ireland remains abortion-free.

Grow the message. Be the voice. Share this beautiful pro-life Christmas message. Happy Christmas.

LifeNews Note: Niamh Ui Bhriain writes for the Life Institute, a pro-life group based in Ireland.