During the early hours of last Friday,  the culture of death spread its territory. One hundred and twenty seven Irish parliamentarians voted for a bill euphemistically called Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. This bill does nothing of the sort. It only ‘liberalised’ the restrictive abortion legislation in Ireland. This objection does not give any protection to life during pregnancy!

Only 31 MPs defended the right to life of the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, that is the human embryo. Although Prime Minister Enda Kelly refused to allow a conscience vote, five members of his party voted against the bill and were automatically expelled from the party.

One of the five, Lucinda Creighton, resigned her post as Ireland’s European affairs minister. The 33 year old minister preferred her conscience to her career. She described her decision in such words:

“I think compromise is essential to any coalition. I feel we've compromised on economic issues, social policy, and so on. But when it comes to something that is a matter of life and death, at least as far as I'm concerned it is, I think it's not really possible to compromise.”

A culture which preaches freedom refused the right to a vote of conscience to the pro-life members of Parliament. This should not surprise us. If one is ready to trample the life of an innocent embryo will one find it difficult to disrespect the right for freedom of conscience of MPs?

The pro-abortion vote in Ireland, like the pro-abortion votes in other countries, is based on a big lie. The embryo is considered to be part of the body of the woman whom she can dispose of as she can do with other parts of her body. Science teaches us that this is not true. The other big lie is that the foetus and then the embryo are just a bundle of cell. Science proves this to be false.

However, other lies are layered on top of these fundamental ones.

The pro-abortion mentality had been gathering roots due to, among other things, the individualisation of society and the belief that humans are the measure of all things. But then an ‘excuse’ is needed to galvanise this mentality into a formidable movement.

The death of Savita Halappanavar as a result of septicaemia which was not analysed in time was the excuse. There is no proof that Halappanavar asked for an abortion. Commentators say that had she asked for an abortion to save her life, it could have been legally performed within the parameters of the law as it was. This notwithstanding, the pro-abortion lobby perpetuated the lie that Savita might well have been saved had the law been like the one which was voted in last Friday morning.

Savita’s death brought with it the surge in favour of a new law allowing abortion in more instances than it was allowed before. There was already a law allowing abortion in certain circumstances, for example to save the mother’s life – an occurrence which medical developments rendered very rare.

The new law widened access to abortion. It made abortion available with greater ease. The new law, for example, allows abortion if a woman claims that she will commit suicide if she does not abort. If a woman threatens to commit suicide, than that woman’s life is in danger and, according to the new law, abortion is justified. This policy invites abuse. This is a flimsy and dangerous kind of excuse as many studies have shown a link between abortion and subsequent depression – surely not a good antidote for a real suicidal tendency!

Another lie was propagated by sections of the media. It was reported that the Irish bishops had threatened to excommunicate politicians who supported the proposed legislation. This is also untrue. But it was convenient for the Church to be portrayed as the big bad wolf.

On the contrary the only excommunications threatened and executed were those made by the pro-abortionists against the pro-life movement. Prime Minister Enda Kenny said that he would kick out of his party any MP who would not support the abortion legislation. And he did! So it was Kenny, not the Catholic bishops, who issued and executed communication decrees. This is the same Kenny who just a few years earlier had promised that his government would not legalise abortion in Ireland!

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