Foreign Affairs
Here’s How American Pro-Lifers Responded To Ireland’s ‘Yes’ To Abortion
Newborn_Baby | Circa October 2015 | Mindy Olson P mindyop via Wikimedia Commons
Groups dedicated to life are saddened and mourning after Ireland voted Saturday to repeal its Eight Amendment banning abortion.
“Ireland will now join that sad community of nations who throw away irreplaceable human beings through abortion on demand,” Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins said in a Saturday press release. “I personally know the pain of abortion and how something sold to you as a simple solution actually becomes a life-long regret,” SFLA International Programs Director Ally Bowlin added, lamenting Ireland’s vote.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that many Irish people voted against love and life by repealing the 8th amendment,” March For Life president Jeanne Mancini told The Daily Caller News Foundation Saturday. “We grieve for the great loss this beautiful country will endure and we pray that they find a way to reverse this unfortunate decision,” she continued.
The Irish electorate voted 66.4 percent to 33.6 percent to repeal the Eight Amendment Saturday. The vote comes after swaths of Irish, many of whom had traveled across international waters to return home in order to cast their ballots, headed to the booths Friday to affirm or reject their commitment to protecting life. Voting booths in the majority Catholic country opened at 7 a.m. Friday and closed at 10 p.m. Officials began counting votes at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Women in Ireland will now be able to abort their unborn babies up until the third month in pregnancy. Between the third and sixth month of pregnancy, abortions will be permitted only in the presence of fatal fetal abnormalities and where the mother’s life is threatened.
faith that we will see a day when everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law,” Americans United for Life (AUL) president Catherine Glenn Foster said in a Saturday press release, mourning the nation’s vote but affirming that pro-lifers will continue their pledging themselves to and working hard for life.
Irish leadership did not waiver after the vote, expressing joy over what abortion advocates count as a victory long-coming. “What we have seen today is a culmination of a quiet revolution that has been taking place in Ireland for the past 10 or 20 years,” Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said after the vote. “The people have said they want a modern constitution for a modern country, and they trust women,” he added.
Ireland was one of the last European countries that banned abortion until Saturday.
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