Irish Government Proposed to Remove Right to Conscientious Objection for Abortion Procedures
The Irish Labour Party has adopted a policy supporting the legalization of abortion up until birth, without any restriction. The Labour Party, which introduced this proposal, further intends to remove the current 3-day waiting period, as well as remove the right of medical professionals to conscientiously refuse to perform an abortion. The proposal was announced and voted on the 13th of November, during their annual party conference.
Since 2018 abortion has been legal up until 12 weeks of pregnancy. But, additionally, the Labour party aims to:
-Remove the current 3-day waiting period between initial consultation and abortion
-Remove medical freedom of conscience to refuse to be involved in an abortion procedure.
According to Ellen O'Sullivan of Labour Women, this measure will banish the "numerous" barriers that exist to abortion. The motion argued that since abortion is legal after 12 weeks in Ireland for “fatal fetal anomalies” it should be available up to birth in all cases in order to prevent “discrimination”. The motion reads:
“As per the United Nations Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities, if late-term abortions are allowed for a fetus with a particular condition but aren’t allowed for healthy or non-disabled fetuses, it is deemed discriminatory and it breaches the provisions of the Convention (...) As such, Conference acknowledges that any list of conditions devalues the lives of people living with that condition and therefore the only way to facilitate an abortion for fatal fetal anomalies is to make late-term abortions available to all with no gestational time limit”.
The removal of the Conscientious Objection would breach the religious freedom of medical staff that believe life starts at conception, which is a widely held belief among Christians.
Eilís Mulroy, the Pro-Life Campaign spokesperson, said:
“For any remaining doubters that the pro-abortion movement was this radical, the Labour Party has surely put these doubts to rest. (...) What the Labour Party has voted for is both chilling and grotesque."
Source: Righttolife.org.uk, Catholic News Agency
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