As many as 25,000 people attended a pro-life rally in the Republic of Ireland last weekend.
The event was described as a “huge gesture of solidarity” in the wake of calls to liberalise the country’s abortion law.
Organisers of the ‘Rally for Life’ said many attendees were marching to oppose Amnesty International, which is lobbying the Irish Government to legislate for abortion.
Solidarity
Archbishop Eamon Martin, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, told the Irish Independent there is a need to recognise the “huge gesture of solidarity by the people of Ireland with human life at all stages”.
He added that people want to “preserve the beauty and sanctity of human life, particularly the most vulnerable of human lives”.
Speaking to crowds before the Rally for Life, the Archbishop described abortion as a mindset which pursues the “elimination of human beings, above all if they are physically or socially weaker”.
Appalled
The rally came after Amnesty International claimed that Ireland’s laws violate women’s rights by not offering free access to abortions.
Niamh Uí Bhriain, one of the committee which organises the Rally for Life, called on people to “abandon Amnesty” in favour of organisations which genuinely support human rights. She said: “People are appalled at Amnesty’s stance, especially those who previously supported the organisation”.
She added: “Amnesty can no longer claim to be a human rights organisation since they trample on the rights of the most vulnerable members of the human family – unborn children”.
Fundamental right
Ui Bhriain also stressed that “most people of goodwill believe that we should provide better support to people with disabilities rather than simply eliminating them before birth”.
She continued: “We’re seeing the number of women travelling for abortion to Britain fall, we’re seeing more and more young people join the pro-life movement, and we’re seeing that there is always a better answer than abortion.
“The government needs to respect the most fundamental right of all for people with disabilities, the right to life.”
Choose Life
To hear more stories of people whose lives have been affected by abortion, visit The Christian Institute’s Choose Life page.
