The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is at it again. Interfering in the Irish debate on abortion, that is.
In a move that ironically coincides with the celebration of the Irish national holiday, the New York-based abortion lobby group has filed a case before the UN’s Human Rights Committee, alleging that it amounts to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” for Ireland to deny abortion in situations where an unborn baby has a terminal illness. Going further, the CRR alleges that the human rights of women carrying these babies have been infringed due to the fact that they were unable to access abortion in Ireland.
There are several problems with this scenario.
Firstly, the CRR has no credibility in the area of human rights. It presents itself as a group genuinely interested in the well-being of all human beings but in fact it campaigns for abortion on request for the full nine months of pregnancy. It has also opposed moves to outlaw abortion on grounds of race or gender.
These aspects of its agenda have not been disclosed to the Irish public, not even when their representative Joanna Westeson appeared on national television last year. Transparency, it would seem, is not high on the list of priorities at the CRR.
They’re not too worried about compassion either. By continually describing babies with terminal illnesses as “unviable” or “incompatible with life”, they show no concern for the many families who welcome babies every day, aware of the challenges they face. These babies are loved and treasured for the duration of their lives, long or short.
Take for example the inspiring story of Eliot Mooney who was born with Trisomy 13 and lived for 99 days. The cruel and dismissive attitude of the CRR ignores the love and joy that all babies bring to their families.
It’s time for the CRR to stop masquerading as a human rights group when their agenda is so different. As an abortion lobby group, they cannot be allowed to hijack the Irish debate through the exploitation of vulnerable families. The Irish People deserve a proper debate on abortion but it will not take place while groups like the CRR continue to make their unwelcome and unwanted contributions. If they persist, then the UN must recognise the sovereign right of the Irish People to deliberate on this issue without the distractions of outside interference.
