DUBLIN, Ireland (LifeSiteNews) – The Irish government and a host of left-wing Members of Parliament (TDs) have rejected a fetal pain relief bill that would have required abortionists to provide an anesthetic to babies over 20 weeks’ gestation about to be killed.
Reaching its second reading last night in the Dáil, Ireland’s parliament, the bill was blocked by a government motion which opposed allowing the legislation to progress to Committee Stage.
107 TDs backed the government motion to halt the fetal pain relief bill, whilst only 36 voted to proceed with the legislation.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae expressed his dismay during last night’s debate that the Irish government would not accept a bill to “help a small little vulnerable person from feeling pain,” whilst Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín condemned the cruelty of politicians who “completely ignore the humanity” of unborn babies.
A host of Rural Independents and cross-party TDs had co-sponsored the bill in an attempt to alleviate the pain felt by babies in late-term abortions, but in proposing the government’s counter-motion Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly claimed it would not be appropriate for a piece of legislation to dictate clinical practice in a healthcare setting.
In presenting the fetal pain legislation, politicians had pointed out that even an animal welfare bill passed in 2013 obligated vets to provide pain relief to animals undergoing procedures.
“Ireland’s Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 places an obligation on vets to give pain relief to an animal during any procedure that may cause it any degree of pain, yet no such provision exists in law for unborn babies during late-term abortions,” a statement from the pro-life TDs read. “This is a most extraordinary and unacceptable situation that must be rectified.”
“Based on science, ethics and on humanitarian grounds, we believe that the administration of pain relief should become routine practice before late-term abortions and that provision should be made in the law to ensure this happens,” they continued.
“Out of respect for unborn babies and everyone personally impacted by the abortion issue, it is time to put politics to one side and work together to make a small but merciful adjustment to the new law that seeks to do nothing more than alleviate unnecessary pain and suffering,” the statement added.
Prior to the vote yesterday, veteran British pro-life campaigner John Smeaton told LifeSiteNews that, in his opinion, such amendments are “not a prudent approach to law-making” and “not the right road for the pro-life movement.”
“Rather than save unborn lives, might such a measure lead to more killings on the basis that ‘they don’t feel a thing’?” Smeaton asked.
There is abundant evidence that children in the womb can feel pain, as unborn babies are developing their nervous systems by six weeks’ gestation. By eight weeks’ gestation, they physically respond to invasive medical procedures.
Children aged only 18 weeks have been operated on while in the womb, and pain relief has been administered during the procedures.
LifeSiteNews has compiled a detailed account of the baby’s development in the womb.
UPDATE 10/29/2021:
Joe Biden claims Pope Francis said he should continue receiving Holy Communion, despite the president's radical, anti-Catholic support for abortion. Biden asserted that the pontiff “was happy I’m a good Catholic,” and that the president should “keep receiving Communion.”
Please SIGN this urgent petition to Pope Francis urging him to clarify what he told Biden at his private audience in Rome. Biden should be facing formal excommunication because of his public and obstinate promotion of abortion, but instead we have the perverse situation in which he claims to have the blessing of the pope to sacrilegiously receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Pope Francis must clarify what exactly was said in order to avoid scandal and being complicit in such grave sin. If Joe Biden wishes to return to communion with the Church he must immediately and publicly stop and repent from his active support of the culture of death.
To ensure that this petition reaches Pope Francis, it will also be CC'ed to the Papal Nuncio of the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, as well as to the Chairman of the Pro-Life Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph Naumann.
Indeed, Joe Biden recently proposed a budget which would eliminate the Hyde Amendment, potentially allowing billions of taxpayer dollars to go to the funding of abortion domestically.
So, it is now an indisputable fact that Joe Biden, himself, is forcing abortion on the American public as well as around the world (e.g., Biden's executive order abolishing the Mexico City Policy).
However, since we know that the Church prioritizes abortion as the "pre-eminent" moral issue, and also how the pope has recently reiterated the teaching that abortion is "homicide," we ask the Pope to ensure that Biden's scandalous claim be clarified and his support for abortion be condemned.
This is the prime opportunity for the pope to make it crystal clear to Biden: Promoting abortion is absolutely and utterly incompatible with being in communion with the Church, and that those politicians who publicly and obstinately support abortion effectively put themselves outside communion with the Church, but also merit formal excommunication.
Joe Biden's active and concentrated promotion of abortion since he took office only 9 months ago is a grave scandal to the faithful of the United States, and to Catholics everywhere.
But, perhaps even more scandalous is the USCCB's decision not to directly and publicly address how Biden's radical, public promotion of abortion affects his standing in the Church.
The silence from our American shepherds is deafening.
Therefore, Pope Francis must now intervene to protect both the Holy Eucharist and our preborn brothers and sisters from death, to protect authentic Church teaching from deceitful "Catholics" like Joe Biden, and to protect the faithful from the grievous scandal caused by Biden's claims, action and the intolerable dithering and "dialoging" engaged in by the USCCB.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Biden will meet with Pope Francis to discuss ‘human dignity,’ but abortion left off agenda'
'Biden restores foreign aid to abortion by repealing Mexico City Policy'
'Removing the Hyde Amendment in Biden’s proposed budget will set a precedent'
ORIGINAL PETITION:
Joe Biden is scheduled to meet Pope Francis in Rome in a rapidly approaching audience on October 29th.
Please SIGN this urgent petition to Pope Francis urging him to tell Biden that he will face formal excommunication because of his public and obstinate promotion of abortion, and that if he wishes to return to communion with the Church he must immediately and publicly stop and repent from his active support of the culture of death.
To ensure that this petition reaches Pope Francis, it will also be CC'ed to the Papal Nuncio of the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, as well as to the Chairman of the Pro-Life Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph Naumann.
Indeed, Joe Biden recently proposed a budget which would eliminate the Hyde Amendment, potentially allowing billions of taxpayer dollars to go to the funding of abortion domestically.
So, it is now an indisputable fact that Joe Biden, himself, is forcing abortion on the American public as well as around the world (e.g., Biden's executive order abolishing the Mexico City Policy).
But, reports suggest that the pope and Biden are only supposed to speak about COVID and climate change...
However, since we know that the Church prioritizes abortion as the "pre-eminent" moral issue, and also how the pope has recently reiterated the teaching that abortion is "homicide," we ask the Pope to ensure that Biden's scandalous support of abortion become the central focus of their meeting.
This is the prime opportunity for the pope to make it crystal clear to Biden: Promoting abortion is absolutely and utterly incompatible with being in communion with the Church, and that those politicians who publicly and obstinately support abortion effectively put themselves outside communion with the Church, but also merit formal excommunication.
Joe Biden's active and concentrated promotion of abortion since he took office only 9 months ago is a grave scandal to the faithful of the United States, and to Catholics everywhere.
But, perhaps even more scandalous is the USCCB's decision not to directly and publicly address how Biden's radical, public promotion of abortion affects his standing in the Church.
The silence from our American shepherds is deafening.
Therefore, Pope Francis must now intervene to protect our preborn brothers and sisters from death, to protect authentic Church teaching from deceitful "Catholics" like Joe Biden, and to protect the faithful from the grievous scandal caused by Biden's action and the intolerable dithering and "dialoging" engaged in by the USCCB.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Biden will meet with Pope Francis to discuss ‘human dignity,’ but abortion left off agenda' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/biden-will-meet-with-pope-francis-to-discuss-human-dignity-abortion-left-off-agenda/
'Biden restores foreign aid to abortion by repealing Mexico City Policy' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/biden-restores-foreign-aid-to-abortion-with-repeal-of-mexico-city-policy/
'Removing the Hyde Amendment in Biden’s proposed budget will set a precedent' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/removing-the-hyde-amendment-in-bidens-proposed-budget-will-set-a-precedent/
**Photo Credit: CBSN / YouTube
Pro-abortion politicians described the fetal pain bill as “insulting” and “upsetting” however, with Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns claiming it represented “sensationalism”.
“This bill represents sensationalism that has no place in any humane system concerned with best medical practice and it definitely has no place in a Republic which voted overwhelmingly for free, safe, and legal abortion care,” she insisted.
Gript.ie previously reported how Cairns said she would get an abortion “for every minute of airtime” given to the papal conclave in 2013, accused Pope Francis of being a “New pedophile-ringleader”, and announced that she looked forward to “cyber-bullying” Pope Benedict XVI when he opened the @Pontifex Twitter account in 2012.
The Cork TD subsequently apologized for “any offence caused” by her remarks.
The Republic of Ireland voted to remove constitutional protections for unborn babies in a 2018 referendum on the 8th Amendment, with politicians subsequently passing one of the most permissive abortion laws in Europe.
Under the current law, abortion is legal for any reason up to 12 weeks. After that it is legal up to “viability” if there is risk of serious harm to the mother, while babies with life-limiting conditions can be aborted up until birth.
Attempts by pro-life politicians to ameliorate any aspects of the 2018 abortion bill were unsuccessful, with the pro-abortion government refusing to include provisions for pain relief, a requirement to bury aborted babies, or even a mandate to save the lives of babies born alive after failed abortions.
In 2018 Father Chris Hayden, of the diocese of Ferns, wrote in the Irish Times that even debating about providing pain relief for babies who are being killed by abortion, showed “how far – and how terribly, terribly quietly – we’ve moved in the past few months” in the previously pro-life country.
13,243 babies are confirmed to have been killed in the first two years since the abortion law was passed in Ireland.
A government review of the legislation next year is expected to propose lifting a three-day waiting period for women who request abortions in the first trimester.