DUBLIN, Ireland, March 9, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — On International Women’s Day, the Irish government released the wording of the referendum question on abortion it will ask voters in May.
The yes-or-no answer to the statement “Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancies” will determine the fate of the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution. The Eighth Amendment guarantees the right to life of the unborn child in Ireland. A “yes” vote will abolish this right.
Irish pro-life feminists held a protest outside the Irish government on the day Health Minister Simon Harris brought the proposal to the Dáil (Irish parliament). They remarked on the fact that it was also International Women’s Day.
“[Harris] needs to realise that abortion is anti-woman and anti-child, and that he is not helping women by pushing abortion,” said Mairéad Hughes, one of the protest organizers. “[He’s] failing to assure women that his government will provide the compassion, help and support women need to raise their children.”
She said that the protestors’ message to the minister was, “We deserve your support, not your abortion bill.”
Hughes also had a message for the women of Ireland.
“We…wish to urge Irish women to reject the agenda of an abortion industry that is seeking to profit from vulnerable Irish women and girls,” she said. “Where Irish people see a woman in crisis, the abortion industry sees a potential customer.”
“They are like vultures preying on the difficulties of women in order to make a profit,” Hughes continued.
She warned that British abortionists are “licking their lips at the prospect of a yes vote” because seven out 10 Irish doctors say they won’t participate in abortion.
“The YES campaign talks about compassion, but for the abortion industry that funds the YES campaign, this is about gaining access to a new market,” Hughes said.
Dr. Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign criticized the Irish government for “highjacking” International Women’s Day to promote abortion.
“Today should be a day about looking for ways to work together to find positive alternatives to abortion,” she said. “It should be a day that we also celebrate the bond of mother and baby and challenge those in power to provide the necessary supports so that no woman ever feels she has no choice but to go down the road of abortion. Today should also be a day where we talk about the horror of gendercide and the millions of missing girls who were aborted for no other reason than because of their gender.”
“Instead International Women’s Day 2018 is being used as part of the government’s choreography to introduce abortion on demand into Ireland,” she continued. “The way the day is being exploited is a total betrayal of women and their unborn babies.”