In an extraordinary political move the Pro-Life Campaign have publicly called on their own supporters not to vote for Fianna Fáil in the next election due to the party’s refusal to countenance even modest pro-life amendments to the Government’s permissive abortion legislation.
In a statement released yesterday, the PLC said, “Any party that isn’t even prepared to back moderate amendments to such an extreme and barbaric abortion bill doesn’t deserve a single pro-life vote in the next general election.”
According to the statement, under the proposed legislation, any doctor who refuses to refer for an abortion will have broken the law and is likely to have their licence to practice medicine revoked. “As the main opposition party, Fianna Fáil could easily have pressured the Government to concede proper freedom of conscience protections for doctors and other reasonable amendments that would have saved some lives. But they decided to placate their friends in the media rather than respect their voters.”
It continued: “1 in 3 people voted No in the referendum. Fianna Fáil expect us to vote for them and look for nothing in return. That cannot happen.”
Apart from “one or two notable exceptions,” the PLC issued a call to its supporters not to vote for Fianna Fáil in the next election. “For as long as our votes are taken for granted, we will resolutely hold to this position.”
