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PR: YD Criticizes Labour Party
15.05.2003
Youth Defence today criticised the Labour Party’s call for abortion legislation to permit abortion under the grounds laid out in the Wrynn Report. The Labour Party declare that abortion should be permitted where there is a "risk to the life of the woman including the risk of suicide." In typical Labour fashion the Wrynn Report fails to include any factual evidence or reasoning to support this proposal. And the passing, by the Labour Party, of the report has led Labour into a blind demand for abortion legislation. According to the United Nations, Ireland is the safest place in the world for a mother to have a baby. Also, it is well accepted that Irish maternal mortality figures are amongst the lowest in the world and owe nothing to the availability of induced abortion in the UK.
Eoghan de Faoite, Chairperson of Youth Defence said today "Irish women seeking abortions in the UK do not do so because they are suffering from life threatening conditions which are not being treated due to the non-availability of abortion in Ireland. The Irish Medical community rightly insist that doctors must provide all necessary treatment for conditions arising during pregnancy or risk being struck off the register." Youth Defence supports the view of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists who say they obtained a consensus from their members who believe that they can preserve mothers lives and health without abortion.
Youth Defence also rebukes the suggestion made by Labour that abortion should be lawful where there is a "risk of suicide". Labour chose to ignore evidence made available to the Oireachtas last year which reasoned that having an abortion increased a woman's tendency to commit suicide not lessened it.
Eoghan de Faoite said that "Pregnant women are six times less likely to commit suicide than non-pregnant women. In addition to that they are twenty times less likely to kill themselves than women who end their pregnancies by abortion. These are the results of a study done by the Finnish National Study in 1996. I would encourage people to respect the findings of this study which was carried out by a body who researched the subject and to pay no heed to the nonsensical suggestions of the Labour Party."
Labour's complete disregard for Human Life and lack of compassion towards women who find themselves in difficult pregnancies was especially evident when the Wrynn Report called for abortion in the case of "Foetal abnormality which is such that the foetus will never be born alive." In the case of lethal deformity to the unborn child Youth Defence believe that the child suffering from a deformity such as anencephaly should be allowed whatever length of life he/she has, no matter how short.
In response to this Mr De Faoite said "In carrying her pregnancy to term the mother will avoid all the risks associated with abortion. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of any pregnancy she will also be aware that she has given her child every chance of survival by allowing nature take its course." The complex hormonal cascade that occurs in pregnancy is thus terminated in a natural manner and implications such as the risk of breast cancer, which is lower in women who complete their pregnancies naturally, are avoided.
Mr De Faoite goes on to say "In response to Labours call for abortion legislation, which they have no mandate for and which is anti-women and anti-child, Youth Defence are holding a lunchtime protest at Labour Party Head Office, in Ely Place today at 1pm".
End
