A heartbroken mother whose daughter died just nine days after birth urged Irish abortion activists to stop using her family’s situation to justify legalized abortion Tuesday ahead of a critical vote in Ireland.
“I want people to understand that the [Irish] Government and the Yes campaign is using my pain and the pain of families like ours to legislate for abortion on demand, and I think that they are exploiting our pain to mislead the Irish people,” Sandra Caulfield said during a news conference with Save the 8th.
The Shropshire Star reports Caulfield’s daughter Hope Rose was diagnosed with Edwards syndrome, also known as Trisomy 18, at 14 weeks of pregnancy.
The genetic disorder typically is fatal, though some children such as former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s daughter Bella live for years with the disorder.
Caulfield gave birth to Hope Rose in September 2017 at Mayo University Hospital, which provided comfort care for the infant until she died, the report states.
“Hope came and graced us with her presence for nine days, she taught us all so many lessons about true love and acceptance. I will be eternally grateful for Hope’s life,” her mother said.
She urged Ireland to vote “no” Friday on whether to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which protects unborn babies’ right to life. Caulfield said abortion is never a compassionate solution for a dying baby like her daughter.
“How the Yes campaign can put compassion and abortion in the same sentence is beyond me,” she said. “Every life, no matter how short, deserves our protection.”
Niamh Ui Bhriain, a leading pro-life advocate of the campaign, said a young rape victim known as Miss C also has been speaking out against the pro-abortion campaigners who use her story to justify legalized abortion.
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Instead of trying to help women, government leaders “have instead sought to legalise abortion to give what two former referendum commissioners have described as a ‘wide-ranging’ right to abortion until six months,” Ui Bhriain said.
Ireland is just a few days away from the critical abortion referendum vote. Abortion activists, backed by some of the world’s richest men, are pushing the pro-life country to legalize abortion on demand on Friday, May 25.
If the amendment is repealed, government leaders plan to push a proposal to legalize abortion for any reason up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to six months in a wide range of circumstances.
Pro-life advocates have been working hard against a biased media, politicians, celebrities and huge, illegal donations from rich American businessmen who are intent on pushing Ireland to adopt abortion on demand. Pro-life volunteers have been knocking on doors across Ireland to save the Eighth Amendment and thousands of unborn babies’ lives.
Many of their efforts at outreach have been met with hostility and vandalism by abortion activists. Earlier this month, an abortion activist allegedly assaulted a pro-lifer in Galway as he was attempting to hang up a poster.
Several recent polls show the pro-abortion campaigners are losing ground, and many voters remain undecided. Last week, an Irish Times poll found the pro-abortion side rapidly is losing ground with voters. While support for the repeal still is higher than for the retention, polls no longer indicate an almost sure victory for abortion activists.
Currently, Irish laws protect pregnant mothers and their unborn babies equally. And Ireland is one of the safest places in the world for pregnant mothers and their babies.
