Health Minister Simon Harris has been accused of “colossal double standards” for condemning a plan by a pro-life group to offer sidewalk counselling to women contemplating abortion while staying silent on a pro-choice group’s counselling that provoked an investigation by the DPP.
Minister Harris was reacting yesterday to a report of an American group allegedly planning to offer “sidewalk counselling” to Irish women entering GP clinics and hospitals to have abortions. He described the practices of the group as chilling, manipulative and disrespectful of the democratic process. Yet, he was assailed by the Pro-Life Campaign for equally failing to condemn the manipulative practices of the Irish pro-abortion group that Irish Family Planning Assoociation (IFPA).
PLC spokesperson Maeve O’Hanlon said: “Simon Harris has no credibility talking about standards in pregnancy counselling while refusing to publicly condemn the State funded pro-abortion IFPA [which was] caught on tape coaching women during counselling to illegally import abortion pills to self-administer without medical supervision.
“Given that Simon Harris singled out the IFPA for praise in the Dáil as recently as December 5th, he has a duty to address the issue of IFPA counselling practices that led to a DPP investigation some years ago.
“Everyone should wish for nothing but the highest standards in pregnancy counselling but it is deeply disturbing when the Minister for Health politicises the issue and displays no willingness to stay impartial or fair-minded. It remains a scandal that Minister Harris will not condemn the IFPA for their outrageous counselling practices.”
