Pro-life groups have pledged to continue fighting the normalisation of abortion in Ireland in the wake of the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
The Iona Institute released a statement to supporters saying that the unborn child still has a moral right to life and they must work to restore that in law. “We must continue to advocate for the right to life of the unborn as the pro-life movement has done, and is doing, in other countries. We must learn from them to be patient, confident that at some point in the future the law will once again protect the unborn members of the human family. We owe our unborn fellow human beings nothing less.”
Save the 8th called the result “a tragedy of historic proportions [1]” and added that a wrong does not become right simply because a majority support it.
“The unborn child no longer has a right to life recognised by the Irish state. Shortly, legislation will be introduced that will allow babies to be killed in our country. We will oppose that legislation. If and when abortion clinics are opened in Ireland, because of the inability of the Government to keep their promise about a GP-led service, we will oppose that as well. Every time an unborn child has his or her life ended in Ireland, we will oppose that, and make our voices known”.
LoveBoth issued a statement that the result would represent “a sea-change on abortion in Ireland and sadly pave the way for an abortion regime that has nothing to do with healthcare and everything to do with abortion on demand.” Spokesperson Ruth Cullen said: “We will hold the Taoiseach to his promise that repeal would only lead to abortion in very restrictive circumstances. He gave his word on this, now he must deliver on it. No doubt many people voted for repeal based on the Taoiseach’s promises in this regard.”
She concluded by saying that regardless of the result, “the campaign to protect unborn babies will endure [2].”