2022 has been a monumental year for the pro-life cause internationally. The massively significant decision of the US Supreme Court in Dobbs v Jackson on 24 June finally ended the original wrongheaded Roe v Wade decision of the US Supreme Court dating from 1973. For almost fifty years, American public life lived under the shadow of the Roe v Wade judgement, which formed the basis of the extreme abortion regime in the United States.
Although there were many low ebbs during the period, the faith and tireless campaigning of pro-life Americans ensured that a large section of US opinion refused to accept the injustice of abortion. They kept the faith and hoped for a day when the travesty of Roe v Wade would be overturned. Tireless pro-life efforts finally bore fruit this year and it is now possible once again in the US to legally protect unborn life in the womb. This is a major step forward for the pro-life movement in the US – but also across the world, including Ireland.
The overturning of Roe v Wade has opened up a new frontier in American political discourse, as pro-life citizens can now expect their elected representatives to implement tangible policies which reflect their pro-life ethos and protect unborn life. Of course it’s also true that proponents of abortion have become intensely animated on foot of the court’s decision. Abortion as a live political issue has entered a new chapter, full of promise but not without dangers.
The pro-life movements in the US and Ireland can no doubt learn lessons from one another given our recent but very different experiences. Ireland protected the right to life of unborn babies in its constitution for 35 years until a referendum in 2018 overturned this vital life saving protection. The outcome of the referendum followed a decade or more of relentless round the clock media pressure, aided and abetted every step of the way by large international pro-abortion organizations who spent vast sums of money to produce their desired outcome.
In the first three years since the introduction of Ireland’s new abortion law, there have been 20,718 Irish abortions – which represents a 70% increase in abortions over that short period. Before the removal of Ireland’s constitutional protections for unborn babies, Ireland was a recognized world leader in safety for pregnant women, something that clearly irked and concerned the international pro-abortion lobby.
This year also witnessed efforts by the Irish government to entrench the new abortion regime. There have been attempts by ardently pro-abortion campaigning organizations – many of which are funded by the public exchequer – to strip away even the most basic protections contained in the Irish abortion law, such as the three-day waiting period before an abortion can take place.
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Beyond simply displaying a disregard for democracy and fairness, the biased attitude of the Irish government suggests a deeper insecurity. The international ramifications of the overturning of Roe v Wade are widely acknowledged. But what is clear is that abortion has not fully taken root in Irish society. For example, ninety percent of general medical practitioners in Ireland have chosen not to participate in the provision of abortion, despite persistent coaxing and financial incentives to do so. The fact that ninety percent of Irish doctors have not signed up to be part of the new abortion regime is also an implicit acknowledgement that abortion is not healthcare. No doubt as a direct result of this freedom of conscience protections for doctors are also under review as part of the Government’s three-year review of the abortion law. Any attempts to further erode these protections will be strenuously resisted by the pro-life movement.
Part of the reason for the lack of normalization of abortion in Ireland has been the continued dedication of the pro-life movement. 2022 was a very strong year for the movement which saw a steady progress in visibly promoting the pro-life message. A series of regional marches organized by the Pro Life Campaign in Cork, Galway, and Donegal in May drew unexpectedly large crowds, as did the March for Life in Dublin in September. The Rally for Life in Dublin in July was also a great success.
The Marches for Life complemented the daily work of the Pro Life Campaign and other organizations in highlighting the grave injustice of Ireland’s new law.
In January, a report was published by Students for Life Ireland on foot of a research study they conducted into the Government run My Options hotline. Their findings show how My Options counsellors simply do not provide women in unplanned pregnancies with upfront information about alternatives to abortion. The research showed that women were typically advised to make an abortion appointment anyway, even when the woman expressed doubt about whether she wanted an abortion at all. Clearly, services like My Options are not providing women with a full range of options. Voluntary organizations like Community Connect and Gianna Care offer help and support to women facing an unplanned pregnancy and new families experiencing difficulties – an area that the Government has shown no interest in as it looks for new ways to fast-track abortions, ignoring the fact that many women in these situations are desperately looking for someone to reach out to them with life-affirming options other than abortion.
Just last month, hundreds of pro-life volunteers gathered at the Pro Life Campaign National Conference in Dublin to hear from Dr. Dermot Kearney, an Irish born doctor living in Britain who has been responsible for saving the lives of many babies through abortion reversal. As a result of a complaint lodged with the General Medical Council (GMC) in Britain by pro-abortion group Marie Stopes, Dr Kearney has been prevented for the past 18 months from helping women who regretted taking the first abortion pill and who desperately wanted to try and save their baby. The decision by the GMC to drop all sanctions against Dr Dermot Kearney for assisting mothers in reversing the effects of the first abortion pill they had taken is a vindication of Dr Kearney’s incredible work and a defeat for the pro-abortion campaigners who wanted to put an end to the great work he is doing. Another positive pro-life win.
Pro-life volunteers in Ireland have just been through an awful time having to come to terms with abortion on demand being legal for the first time in our history. In 2022, however, we received an amazing boost and encouragement to keep going with the news of Roe v Wade being overturned. We were already determined not to allow abortion become normalized in Ireland but the decision of the US Supreme Court in June has given us a renewed energy to work even harder for the right to life in our homeland.
LifeNews Note: Eilís Mulroy writes for the Pro-Life Campaign.
