Thousands march for life in Dublin

Thousands gathered in Dublin last week to attend Ireland’s March for Life to make abortion a major election issue.

The demonstrators marched from St. Stephen’s Green to Leinster House, encouraging voters to cast their ballots in favour of pro-life politicians at the next General Election, which will take place no later than March 2025.

The event took place just days after the Irish Parliament approved a Bill banning pro-life witness outside abortion centres, which will ban any pro-life presence within 100 metres of facilities where abortion services are provided, including abortion centres, women’s health clinics, and GP surgeries.

Regret

Independent TD Carol Nolan spoke at the march, saying: “more and more people are starting to ask questions about what our ‘so-called’ leaders in Government are presiding over.

“I am convinced that in addition to the people who voted ‘no’ in 2018, there are lots of ‘yes’ voters who now regret voting for repeal.

“Given what has transpired, we need to reach these voters in the coming weeks and urge them to think pro-life before they vote in the upcoming elections in the next few weeks, and indeed, in the next few months”.

Conscientious objection

Dr Calum Miller, a medical doctor and Research Fellow at Blackfriars Hall (Part of the University of Oxford), also spoke to those in attendance, emphasising the importance of conscientious objection to healthcare professionals.

He said: “If you lose the soul of medicine and make it a profession of killing, if you rob medicine of conscience by expelling those who listen to their conscience, everyone is in danger. Is that the sort of healthcare system you want looking after you when you are weak and vulnerable?

“Erode conscience, and you remove the healthcare professionals with the most integrity, who are willing to do what is right rather than what is convenient”

Rising death toll

It was revealed this week that the Health Service Executive (HSE) spent €8.5 million on chemical abortion pills between 2019 and the end of 2022.

The pills became legal in Ireland in early 2019, and in that four year period, nearly 27,700 women procured an abortion through the HSE in this way. The total number of abortions is even higher as this is not inclusive of surgical abortions.

The number of chemical abortions taking place in Ireland is on the rise, with 6,017 in 2019 up to 8,595 in 2022. And last month, newly released data showed that between January and November 2023, GPs made claims for reimbursements for a total of 9,218 abortions, but this did not cover abortions that took place in hospital settings.

Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said: “This figure is far in excess of the annual notifications report for every preceding year, despite the fact this figure is just for GP claims and does not include hospital abortions. As such, the abortion rate is likely much higher and undoubtedly exceeds 10,000.”