Irish Catholic bishops are crying out for support for unborn babies at a critical time for the nation’s future.
In a month, Ireland is scheduled to vote on whether to retain its Eighth Amendment, which protects unborn babies’ right to life. Abortion activists, backed by some of the world’s richest men, are pushing the pro-life country to legalize abortion on demand.
Over the weekend, Catholic bishops across the country urged their congregations to work hard and pray hard in the weeks leading up to the May 25 vote, Crux reports.
In a pastoral letter last week, Bishop Alan McGuckian of Raphoe asked Catholics to “pray earnestly” that Irish voters will “choose life.” He said mothers and their unborn babies both deserve to be loved, valued, welcomed and respected.
“When we change or delete a law we run the risk of blinding ourselves over time to the truth behind it even though all the evidence we need is before our eyes. In our day we see more clearly than ever before how everything begins at conception,” McGuckian said.
He pointed out how science now shows that human life begins at conception, and lamented the “great irony” of a vote to legalize abortion, given that evidence.
In a similar message on Sunday, Bishop John Buckley of the Diocese of Cork and Ross asked Catholics to consider what a vote to legalize abortion would mean for the future of all human lives.
“If a society decides that human life is disposable at its beginning, it will not be too long before it decides the same for human life at its end,” he said, a reference to the growing push for euthanasia.
“Human life is sacred and precious,” Buckley continued. “Every human being must be treated with the greatest respect. This is true in every moment of life from its first beginning to its natural end. This respect for life is shared by people of all faiths and none. While it is enriched by our Catholic faith, it is our common humanity that convinces us of the right to life of every human being.”
Bishop Denis Nulty of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin spoke about the value of human life on Sunday as well, according to Crux.
“… we are in deep denial if we cannot recognize that an abortion culture fundamentally alters our attitude towards disability. The statistics in this regard from other jurisdictions do not lie,” he said.
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Pro-lifers estimate that the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution has saved approximately 100,000 unborn babies from abortion.
If repealed, lawmakers will consider a bill to legalize abortion for any reason up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and even later in a broad range of circumstances.
Cora Sherlock of the ProLife Campaign said now is a “critical time” to stand up for unborn babies’ rights. Her group has been working hard to educate voters about the truth about abortion.
“The fact is we face a well-funded and well-organized [pro-abortion] repeal campaign,” she said. “They have powerful politicians and the biased media on their side… and they’re constantly twisting the facts and science to suit their radical abortion agenda. The time for action is now, and we need to mobilize every supporter to help spread the word!”
A final Stand Up For Life Rally is scheduled for May 12 in Dublin.
While polls show modest support for repealing the Eighth Amendment, they also consistently show that most people do not want abortion on demand. A recent poll showed the pro-abortion side losing ground.
