Huge crowds gathered in Dublin last weekend to 'Celebrate the Eighth' - the constitutional which amendment which gives equal protection to both mother and child

In a new attempt to ratchet up pressure on the Irish Government pro-abortion forces including the New York Centre for Reproductive Rights met in Dublin yesterday.

The meeting was held under the banner of the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment, demanding a new Referendum and an end to Ireland's protection of the unborn, following a ruling by a UN Treaty Monitoring Committee.

Despite the fact that various UN treaties recognise the right to life of every human being and that no binding UN Treaty recognises a right to abortion, a UN Human Rights Committee panel of 'experts' on Thursday ruled against Ireland which upholds the right to life of the unborn in addition to that of a mother.

Amanda Mellet

The Committee ruled that the ban on abortion subjects women to discriminatory, cruel and degrading treatment and should be ended for cases involving so called fatal foetal abnormalities.

The 29-page report ruled on a complaint filed on behalf of Amanda Mellet, a Dublin woman who travelled to the UK for an abortion when her doctor informed her that her baby had a fatal heart defect.

Article 40.3.3° of the Irish Constitution reads: "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right."

UN Human Rights Committee

The UN Human Rights Committee, constituting experts from 17 nations led by Fabian Salvioli of Argentina, ruled that Ireland's abortion law violates the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on several points and called for widespread reform. The panel called on Ireland to amend its laws to comply with its interpretation of UN treaty obligations, provide financial compensation to Mellet and ensure she has access to state-supported counselling services.

It also said Ireland should amend its laws to ensure that no other women with pregnancies involving fatal foetal abnormalities should be forced to carry them to full term.

The experts also found that Ireland's underlying criminal law on abortion was "discriminatory because it places the burden of criminal liability primarily on the pregnant woman."

Pro-abortion cabal

The findings of this Committee are not legally binding and the Irish Government should ignore it. This Committee has a history of reinterpreting the provisions of the treaty it monitors dating back to a meeting in Glencove outside New York in 1996. A number of UN bodies such as the High commissioner for Human Rights, UN special rapporteurs, UNFPA, UN Convention monitoring committees including this one, met to consider their failure to declare abortion to  be a human right during the Cairo and Beijing Conferences.

Despite the fact that neither this Treaty nor any other Treaty for that matter, makes any mention of abortion they decided to reinterpret the convention texts to find whatever they wanted the documents to say to further their pro-abortion ideologies.

The timing of this has all the hallmarks of a pro-abortion coup aimed at pressurising the Irish Government to proceed with the appointment of the proposed Citizen's Assembly.

The Constitution and a Citizen's Assembly

The issue was raised in the Dail (Irish Parliament) yesterday by Clare Daly and other pro-abortion deputies demanding that the Citizen's Assembly be put in place as a priority.

Responding, Mr Bruton said he has not seen the report from the Committee on Human Rights but he sympathises and understands the concerns of TDs for any woman with a fatal foetal abnormality.

He said he cannot answer for what action Government will take on foot of this finding and that change in this area requires an amendment of our Constitution and the Programme for Government has set out that there will be a Citizen's Assembly established within six months.

SPUC has been at the heart of the pro-life opposition to attempts to impose liberal abortion laws on Ireland and Northern Ireland. Contact Pat now to find out what you can do to help protect unborn babies in Ireland.