Pro-life demonstrators ask voters to consider position on abortion ahead of elections

ireland
Pro-Life Demonstrators Ask Voters To Consider Position On Abortion Ahead Of Elections
The pro-life rally in Dublin on Monday comes ahead of the local and European elections. Photo: PA Images
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Rebecca Black and David Young, PA

Voters have been urged to consider where parties stand on abortion as they go to polling stations this year.

Local government and European elections are set to take place in 2024, while the next general election must be held by next spring.

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Crowds turned out in Dublin on Monday for the annual March for Life.

EilIs Mulroy, of the Pro Life Campaign, addressed the event at Molesworth Street.

She said the campaign will be publishing a “comprehensive voter guide” in the coming weeks, which she contended “will serve as an invaluable guide to pro-life voters when deciding how to cast their vote in the upcoming elections”.

Ms Mulroy also claimed that the number of terminations being carried out in the State is “soaring” based on recent answers to parliamentary questions regarding reimbursements made to abortion providers in 2023.

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She described this as “devastating” and said that efforts made between now and election day to encourage people to “think pro-life” before they vote.

The rally took place amid an ongoing political row over stalled recommendations of an independent review of the State’s abortion laws.

Barrister Marie O’Shea was commissioned by the Department of Health in 2022 to conduct a review of the legislation that was introduced after a referendum on the Eighth Amendment in 2018.

In her 2023 review report, Ms O’Shea made a series of recommendations. However, more than a year on, many of the most significant proposals are yet to be implemented.

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Among the recommendations proposed by the barrister is the removal of a mandatory three-day waiting period between a woman’s initial medical consultation and her being given access to abortion treatment or medication.

The review also recommends the threat of criminal sanction is removed for medics found to have acted outside the provisions of the abortion legislation, and that the HSE is given the ability to ensure the provision of services is not disrupted due to issues around conscientious objections held by healthcare staff.

Ms O’Shea also urged a review of the legislative definition related to abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly continues to consider the review ahead of presenting final proposals to Cabinet.

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Taoiseach Simon Harris has insisted that any proposals to change the State’s abortion laws must be given “careful consideration”.

He has said examination of the recommendations needs to be treated with the “same sensitivity” as the debate around the referendum on the Eighth Amendment.

Mr Harris has said he wants to “respect” the diversity of views on the issue and “bring forth consensus”.

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