The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has accused the Citizens’ Assembly of lacking balance in its discussions on abortion and of ignoring the positive impact of the constitutional protection for the unborn. Speaking after the latest meeting of the Assembly, PLC spokesperson, Sinéad Slattery, criticised the gathering’s choice of speakers for sessions on abortion law. These included a representative of the UK’s largest abortion provider, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, and a representative of the Guttmacher Institute, which promotes access to abortion services in the United States and internationally. “It is bizarre, to say the least, that a leading abortion provider in Britain, a business that has publicly campaigned against Ireland’s constitutional protection for the unborn, should be invited to present under the heading of ‘case studies’ and ‘care paths’,” said Ms Slattery. “Even more strange is that an invitation was given to the partisan Guttmacher Institute to present an ‘overview of the availability of legal terminations in other jurisdictions’. Clearly, a neutral institute or group of scholars should have been asked to present such a dossier.” Ms Slattery’s comments were echoed by Independent TD Mattie McGrath who, in a statement, said: The Assembly, by giving a platform to organisations who do not have even the pretence of objectivity or impartiality is incredibly disturbing and will only result in confirming many of us in the belief that it is simply not interested in engaging in a fair analysis  of the topic.”