- News
- Who We Are
- Projects
- Campaigns
- Publications
- History
PR: Committee's Deception: A slap in the face to democracy
17.07.2000
The revelation in the Irish Examiner that the All-Party Oireactais Committee on the Constitution has reached a consensus against a total ban on abortion comes as no surprise to Youth Defence. In our oral submission to the Committee we signaled most strongly our recognition that the members had a pre-arranged conclusion and what was being conducted was nothing more than a P.R. exercise on behalf of a decision that had already been made.
Clearly the declaration by Brian Lenihan that there is no possibility of the Committee recommending a ban on abortion proves this to be correct, especially so since they felt able to arrive at this consensus so quickly. The fact that there is no surprise in this announcement does not however detract from the monumental arrogance involved. The Committee has set its decision, contrary to the overwhelming majority of the Irish people, contrary to the overwhelming majority of the submissions it received and contrary to the overwhelming majority of the Medical profession, as expressed both in the Medical Council guidelines and in the submission by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Mr. Lenihan has described the tiny minority medical opinion as subtle and interesting. It was in fact dishonest and useful. It was dishonest in claiming that there is a medical necessity for induced abortion when there is not, and useful to the Committee members as they hide behind it to justify their pro-abortion views. The debate on abortion has gone on too long in this country for the Irish people to be fooled by this trick.
Youth Defence strongly rejects the suggestion by the Committee that a complete ban on abortion puts Mothers lives at risk. We strongly reject also the arrogance of this in ignoring the rights of the Irish people to decide this issue by referendum. In the end, however, it will not be the Committee which makes the final decision and we call on the vast majority who want a Pro-Life referendum to make their feelings known to their representatives over the coming months so that this view is reflected in the decision of the Cabinet and Dail when it meets to consider the report in October.
End
