Loveboth

We have launched our campaign LoveBothVoteNO this morning in the Alex Hotel, Dublin. Some of our members addressed a packed room consisting of Love Both supporters and members of the Oireachtas.

A video featuring Theresa Moylan, a former NHS nurse who speaks about her experience of the abortion industry in England, was played.

Love Both legal consultant Caroline Simons said:

“If the Eighth Amendment is repealed, Ireland will go from being a country that protects unborn babies to one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world.

“The Government’s referendum proposal is even more frightening than England’s abortion law, where 1 in every 5 babies loses his or her life to abortion.

“If repeal happens, the Government is committed to legislating for unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks.

“The proposed legislation also allows for abortion on vague and undefined ‘health’ grounds, up to viability and even up to birth where the baby has a possible terminal illness and in other circumstances as well.

“Voters who support abortion in so-called limited circumstances need to know that what they hope for with repeal and what they’d get are two entirely different things. A vote for repeal is a vote for abortion on demand.

“It didn’t have to be this way. The Government could have chosen to amend the Eighth Amendment for so-called hard cases, while leaving some form of protection for unborn babies in the Constitution.

“But instead they opted for a proposal that takes away all meaningful protections from unborn babies and allows abortion on demand.

“The only way to stop this from happening is to ‘VOTE NO’ on 25th May.

LoveBothVoteNO campaign anti-abortion

Spokesperson for the group, Cora Sherlock said: “The Eighth Amendment has saved countless lives. We need to boldly speak up for it and defend it.

“More and more people are starting to realise what’s at stake in this referendum. That’s certainly been my experience from talking to people over the past month or so.

“Ireland would be a very different place without the Eighth Amendment, and it would not be for the better.

Sinead Slattery of Love Both told the gathering:

The referendum is taking place with one purpose and one purpose only – to introduce abortion on demand. The Government is spearheading the referendum in the full knowledge that they never sponsored a single debate in the Dáil in the past six years exploring positive alternatives to abortion.  All the focus has been on abortion, abortion, abortion. By any measure, this is a national scandal.

LoveBothVoteNO campaign anti-abortion
Sinead Slattery

Love Both spokesperson, Áine Kierans told the launch:

“An unborn baby’s heart starts beating by 3 weeks. In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy an unborn baby can be easily seen kicking and jumping on ultrasound scans. The baby’s fingernails and hair have already started growing. All the baby’s vital organs are formed. At this stage in development, the baby can yawn and even suck his or her thumb.  The baby’s face is also visible at this stage. These are incredible milestones that bring home the reality that an unborn baby is one of us and is worthy of our support and protection.

“One in five pregnancies in England ends in abortion. This figure is shocking. It may be hard to believe. But it comes directly from the Office for National Statistics in England and Wales.

“In the event of repeal, if Irish abortion rates grew even one quarter as fast as they did in Britain we would have 4,000 more abortions every year.

“What an awful tragedy that would be. When looked at closely, repealing the Eighth Amendment would be a dreadful drift backwards rather than a step forward.

“Regardless of how it is presented the Government’s abortion proposals amount to abortion on demand. If we go down that road, there is no going back.”