“Ireland without abortion is a consistently safe place for mothers and children” Mullingar congregations are told
“Usually referendums add protection to human rights; however the repeal of the 8th Amendment would take away rights from unborn children” Eilis Mulroy said in Mullingar on Sunday morning. Ms Mulroy, a spokesperson for the Pro Life Campaign (PLC), was invited by Bishop Michael Smith to speak at Masses in Mullingar Cathedral and in St Paul’s Church.
“Whenever I speak on this issue, I am very aware of the difficult personal situations people have been in, their individual stories, and of the responsibility not to add to the pain those personally connected with the abortion issue may be experiencing” Ms Mulroy said.
Ireland’s pro-life laws have served as an inspiration to many other countries, according to the PLC spokesperson. “Ireland without abortion has been consistently a safer place for pregnant women than countries like the US where abortion is legal in wide-ranging circumstances” Ms Mulroy pointed out.
In her address to congregations at Sunday Masses in the Cathedral and St Paul’s Church, Ms Mulroy recounted the story of John Paul Johnson, a baby boy diagnosed with a life limiting condition called anencephaly while still in his mother’s womb. John Paul lived for just 17 minutes after he was born. His mother Cliona says: “While 17 minutes might seem like a very short time, those moments are etched in our hearts forever. It has been such a gift to look back during our time of suffering and loss and remember that precious life. John Paul had every bit as much right to be given a chance to live as anyone. He might have only lived for a few minutes but he had a lifetime’s worth of love in those few minutes.”
Ms Mulroy was careful to avoid any politicisation of the referendum but urged people to take an active interest in the debate and to become informed. “The right to life is a natural right that no individual, no majority and no State can ever create or destroy it” she said. “None of us can leave our faith outside the room when we are considering these matters”.
