Since the repeal of Ireland’s Eighth Amendment, which protected the right to life of the unborn, in 2018, abortion has surged 250%. 1 in 6 pregnancies now end in abortion.
The Annual Report for 2023, published in June, stated that the majority of abortions took place under 12 weeks, in accordance with Section 12 of the 2018 Act. 128 abortions took place on the grounds that the child was likely to die before or shortly after birth. 21 cited risk to life or health, while 7 cited risk to life or health in an emergency.
Ireland’s Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, recently boasted that he oversaw a 55% increase in hospitals providing abortion in 2023.
Buffer zones legislation, outlawing pro-life activity within 100 metres of abortion facilities and providers, was approved in Ireland earlier this year.
The pro-abortion lobby has sought to abolish Ireland’s mandatory three-day waiting period for abortion. Out of 8,057 consultations for abortion in 2020, there were 6,577 abortions, meaning that 1,480 abortions did not go ahead after the three-day waiting period.
Conscientious objection to abortion has also come under attack in Ireland. This year, the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, Stephen Bowen, stated that “the fact that some health care professionals are refusing to provide a health service on the basis of conscience is unacceptable”.
SPUC Comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Ireland’s abortion lobby is always pushing to kill as many unborn babies as it can and force this deadly ideology on others, especially medical professionals. The ugly result of this is all too clear in a nation once so pro-life.
“36,000 unborn babies have now been killed under this abortion regime, as of 2023, and it is frightening to imagine what another five years will inflict. The Irish people must wake up to the disastrous reality of abortion, fatal to babies, and a blight on women.”
