Former independent MEPs Dana Rosemary Scallon and Kathy Sinnott and an alliance of 30 community groups have called on parties and candidates to give an election pledge not to legislate for abortion in the wake of the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.
The alliance, Ireland United for Life, said the “constitutional right of the Irish people to decide on Ireland’s unique pro-life status must not be usurped by the opinion of unelected judges from the European Court of Human Rights”.
Ms Scallon told a press conference in Dublin today that the Ireland United for Life alliance was established because of a “distinct lack of open discussion, truthfulness on the intention of the parties with the exception of the Labour party who did state they would legislate”.
The alliance is calling for the electorate to vote for anti-abortion candidates. Ms Scallon said some 70 per cent of the voting public opposed abortion and “that would correlate to 1.2 million voters”.
Niamh Uí Bhriain director of the Life Institute, said that while a number of factors had contributed to the Labour party’s slump in the polls, she believed their stance on the European Court judgment was partially responsible for this.
Ms Sinnott, former Ireland South MEP, described Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour as “no longer Irish political parties, just branches of European political parties” and “the agendas they are putting forward really have nothing to do with our good. It’s all about Europe.”
She said that if they were “going to come to Irish people to be voted on they should start thinking and acting like Irish political parties and remember that the Irish people have always and continue to value the human person”.
Defence criticised Labour’s response to the judgment and said Fine Gael’s response, to have an all-party committee on the issue, was “really not much better because what they are suggesting is really another quango to decide for the people on an issue, which is so fundamental and so hugely important to the people of Ireland”.
Bernie Smith, director of Precious Life Belfast said that in 2008 the four main parties in the North united against any abortion legislation “that would be forced on Northern Ireland from Westminster. And to use that example there’s no reason that the politicians (in the south) cannot follow in the footsteps of the four main parties in the North of Ireland”.
The Allliance said their members “will only vote for parties and individual candidates who publicly pledge commitment to defend human life at all stages and we urge all concerned voters to do likewise”.
