‘Abortion is Always Illegal
and Never Medically Necessary!’
An Important Pro-Life Education Initiative
Precious Life and the All Party Pro-Life Group of the Northern Ireland Assembly hosted a conference to address the question, ‘Is abortion medically necessary?’ The conference was held on the 19th of April in Long Gallery in Stormont. The forty to fifty delegates included MLAs, Councillors, medical and legal professionals, students, religious representatives from various denominations, and leaders and activists from several pro-life organizations. There were also men and women present from Rachel’s Vineyard and the Silent No More campaign representing those who have been hurt by abortion.

The keynote speakers were drawn from both the medical and legal fields, in order to present a comprehensive understanding of the issue of abortion. The goal of the conference was to educate political leaders and other delegates by presenting recent and relevant evidence from diverse perspectives.


Precious Life’s Bernadette Smyth said:

‘The conference has been organized in response to the Department of Health's issuing of guidelines on performing abortion in Northern Ireland, which state "...it is lawful to perform an operation in Northern Ireland for the termination of a pregnancy, where: it is necessary to preserve the life of the woman; or there is a risk of real and serious adverse effect on her physical or mental health, which is either long term or permanent."

Mrs Smyth pointed out how important the joint initiative is since pro abortion activists often make deceptive and erroneous claims, often accepted uncritically, as a tactic to advance the pro death agenda. The Health Department’s ongoing attempt, even in contempt of Lord Justice Girvan’s court ruling, is a timely example. The recent smear campaign run against pro-life Ireland by Human Rights Watch is another, and the media attempts aimed at shutting down so-called ‘rogue’ pro-life crisis pregnancy services is also worth noting.

Mr Pat Ramsey MLA, who made opening and closing remarks at the conference, stated that at least one hundred MLAs and he do not want abortion in Northern Ireland. He said, ‘As politicians, we all have a responsibility to ensure proper guidelines for medical professionals, guidelines that are not a charter for abortion.’

Three Main Conclusions
The keynote speakers posited that the evidence supports at least three principal conclusions:

- That there is no medical or psychiatric reasons justifying legalized direct abortion;

- That direct abortion, despite claims to the contrary, is in fact illegal in Northern Ireland; and

- That abortion is not only unnecessary but is actually harmful to women.

Prof Patricia Casey of the Department of Psychiatry UCD and Mater Hospital, in an article in The Times in 2006 said that abortion causes women tremendous psychological and mental health problems, and that women need to be told of the health risks like depression, addiction to drugs or alcohol, and suicide. Citing several recent studies from Britain and the USA, Prof Casey’s conclusions were as follows:

  • Recent longitudinal studies point to a causative association between abortion and mental problems;

  • Abortion is associated with suicide;

  • Abortion for fetal anomaly is associated with long term emotional problems;

  • Further longitudinal studies with large samples are required to replicate the recent; and

  • This information should be made available to women seeking abortion, at minimum the risk for those with prior history depression.

It is worth noting that Prof Casey has written five books on psychiatry and is editor of the British Psychiatric Bulletin.

Prof Eamon O’Dwyer stated that ‘over 50% of abortions are the result of failed contraception,’ and that ‘abortion and contraception are fruits of the same tree.’ He also pointed out that both Margaret Sanger and Marie Stopes were both motivated by eugenics—that is the elimination of people of so-called ‘inferior’ races. (It is worth noting that African Americans in the USA have been running a campaign to highlight the links between racism and abortion.) Prof O’Dwyer’s also repeated a salient point he has been making for nearly 30 years: ‘There are no medical circumstances in which the life of a mother may only be saved by directly terminating the life of her unborn child.’ He even asked, citing the 1893 President of the British Medical Association who said over a hundred years ago that it is no longer necessary to set mother against child, ‘What has changed in 2010?’


Mrs Johanna Higgins LLB, a criminal barrister with over 15 years experience as a senior public prosecutor says that it is a myth that abortion is legal in Northern Ireland in certain circumstances. This she says ‘is a misrepresentation of the law in relation to the crime of child destruction.’ Mrs Higgins added that, ‘It seems from the guidelines that second and third trimester babies can be aborted for the life and health of the mother. This is legally wrong. Any doctor who attempts or carries out such an act should be prosecuted and should expect to be convicted.’ Making an important distinction, Mrs Higgins clarified that it is legal for doctors to provide medical treatment that may cause the unintentional death of the unborn child only in circumstances to save a pregnant woman’s life.

The Question is based upon a False Premise
The ultimate conclusion of the conference can be nicely summed up in the further observations of Mrs Higgins:
‘The question “Do you agree with abortion to save the life of the mother?” is based on a false premise that abortion is sometimes necessary to save the life of the mother. It is never necessary to kill the unborn child to save the life of its mother. It should, therefore, never be legal because it is never necessary.’



Source: FR SYLVESTER MARY MANN, C.F.R. - CatholicVoice.ie

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At the Stormont Conference, Precious Life also officially launched a new public awareness leaflet outlining why abortion is never necessary to save a woman's life. Thousands of these leaflets will be distributed to public, and medical and health professionals across Northern Ireland.


Contact us for leaflets...

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