In a foretaste of the next big right-to-life debate in this country, a major conference was held in Dublin last week on end-of-life issues. Many of the speakers present had no qualms about defending the so-called “right to die”, often on very broad grounds. The conference was called “Medical Ethics and Law at the End...
A case has come to light from the Coombe hospital involving a woman who was told she could have not an abortion – not yet at any rate – because her unborn baby’s abnormality did not appear to fall within the definition of ‘fatal’ that is contained in the new abortion law. The reaction of...
The American Psychological Association released a report in the last few days which criticised ‘traditional masculinity’ saying it contributed to mental health problems among men. But the same report nonetheless had a fair amount to say about the value of fathers to their children, something rarely acknowledged here in this country. The report said that...
The Iona Institute released a report last week further highlighting the big marriage gap that exists between middle class and working class people. CSO data show that professional workers are twice as likely to be married, and only a third as likely to be divorced or separated as unskilled workers. Breda O’Brien turned her attention...
During the referendum debate pro-life campaigners were accused of ‘scare-mongering’ when they warned that babies could be left to die following botched late-term abortions, and that unborn children with Down Syndrome would be disproportionately targeted if the law was changed. A story from Germany starkly illustrates what we were warning about, unfortunately. A few days...
Minister Simon Harris has promised to introduce “exclusion zones” to prevent protests outside hospitals, clinics and GP surgeries where abortions take place or abortion pills are prescribed. This would make us the only country in Europe to have such a law, as Lawyers for Choice themselves effectively admitted in a blog recently. Legislation already exists, here...
A new report from The Iona Institute called ‘Mind the Gap II’, shows that unskilled workers are more than three times as likely as professional workers to be divorced or separated. The divorce and separation figures are 18.1pc and 6.1pc respectively. (See Note 1 below). The report is a follow-up to a paper issued by...
By David Mullins Toward the end of last year, the Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone, gave the keynote address at an academic conference in Boston College entitled Towards ‘Transitional Justice: Recognition, Truth-telling, and Institutional Abuse in Ireland’. This followed her decision to commence a Commission of Investigation related to the discovery of child and infant remains on...
The General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill was before the Oireachtas Health Committee this week. The proposed law covers such issues as sperm and egg and embryo “donations”, pre-implantation diagnosis and sex selection, embryonic and stem cell research, etc. The hearing was anything but constructive. The well-reasoned objections of witnesses like Emma O’Friel...
Should single people pay less tax and married people pay more than under the present Irish system? That seems to be the gist of an article in the Irish Times this week. In tones of regret, it said that “while society has moved forward in so many ways over recent decades, our tax system still...
