Thousands of Irish pro-lifers marched for life in Dublin last weekend. This year, the popular event took action to save the Republic of Ireland’s three-day waiting period for abortion, a measure that has been proven to save thousands of lives.
The 2022 Rally for Life was the first pro-life march in Dublin since the stunning reversal of Roe vs Wade in the United States. The march was also the first held in Dublin since 2019, as subsequent Covid lockdowns meant that the event could only take place online.
This year’s march saw the launch of a campaign seeking to protect the three-day waiting period for abortion.
In 2021, it was revealed that, out of 8,057 consultations for abortion in 2020 in Ireland, there were 6,577 abortions, meaning that 1,480 abortions did not go ahead after the three-day waiting period.
There is currently no waiting period in the UK, though polling data shows that 79% of the British public support a similar measure.
Protecting thousands of unborn lives
Megan Ní Scealláin, a spokesperson for the Life Institute, which organised the event, said: “Voters were guaranteed that women would have a three-day period to reflect between a first abortion appointment and the doctor giving the abortion pill, and it is appalling to see abortion campaigners now push to have that time to think scrapped.
“We know from figures released to Carol Nolan TD that between 800 and 1,000 women did not proceed with an abortion after that initial appointment…
“Scrapping the requirement for those three days to think might mean another 1,000 abortions a year.”
96% of mothers thankful for not aborting child
A recent study of women who had an abortion, as well as women who were refused abortions, revealed that 96% of women denied an abortion did not regret having their babies at their child’s fifth birthday.
In the words of Camila, one study participant: “It’s just something that opens you up and changes you when you find out that you’re going to be [a mother]…
“You know, this is your new life, and this is just what’s going to happen. And a sense of peace came over me.”
Saving lives “a profoundly good thing”
SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “Evidence shows that abortion waiting periods save lives and spare many mothers the trauma of abortion, allowing them vital time to reconsider and choose life for their unborn children.
“It is also clear that the public recognises this and supports such measures that drastically reduce abortion.
“To save lives is a profoundly good thing. The removal of Ireland’s waiting period would ultimately be a malevolent and devastating act. Pro-lifers must rally everywhere to save as many lives as possible, as well as campaign for the ultimate end to abortion, at home and around the globe.”