The Irish Government seems intent on denying the importance of the biological tie between parent and child. Ultimately this is an attack on the right of a child to know and be raised, where possible, by their natural parents. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Government plans to introduce surrogacy legislation which will deny...
A new study has just been published in Australia about children raised by families in which at least one parent has a same-sex attraction. It has been covered enthusiastically and uncritically in many media, including here at the Huffington Post. The study seems to ‘prove’ that children raised in such families do at least as well as...
The Pew Research Centre in the US has produced a new headline grabbing study which says that in 40pc of American households, the woman is the main breadwinner. At face value that figure of 40pc seems to indicate that a huge social revolution is taking place in family life and that is indeed the case,...
Exactly how large should the State loom in the lives of children? In Scotland the answer is, very large. A new piece of legislation has just been unveiled called the ‘Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill’ and under it, every child in Scotland will have an overseer appointed by the State to see to their...
The issue of childcare is now firmly under the spotlight again, after RTE’s Prime Time expose of mistreatment at a number of creches in Dublin and Wicklow. Much of the commentary has focused on weak inspection levels by the HSE, a lack of training among childcare staff and breaches of regulation. But in a searching...
At the weekend Paris saw the third massive demonstration in just a few months against same-sex marriage and for the true and authentic rights of children. Last weekend’s demonstration, attended by hundreds of thousands of people, took place only days after the French government legalized same-sex marriage. However, opponents have shown they will not go...
In an article in the Irish Times, VEC teacher Sheila Maher has a piece argues against Catholic-run schools because they make children from non-Catholic backgrounds feel ‘excluded’. She takes her cue from the fact that children in primary schools up and down the country are making their First Communions this month. This ceremony, she says,...
Some of our Catholic politicians who are preparing to vote in favour of abortion are trying to square their consciences by pulling what amounts to the ‘John F Kennedy defence’. That is, they are trying to separate their consciences from their faith because they think this is what Kennedy did, even though it’s not, in fact,...
Tuesday’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of Gross v Switzerland was both astonishing and disturbing. The court found that Switzerland’s law, which allows doctors to prescribe drugs to allow patients to kill themselves didn’t provide sufficient “clarity” and as such breached the plaintiff’s right to respect for private...
The family diversity or family equality argument is perfectly expressed today in The Irish Times by Karen Kiernan of One Family. The essence of her argument; the family in Ireland is changing, all families are equal in esteem and marriage shouldn’t be held in higher esteem. Therefore change the Constitution and remove the special status...
