The former Taoiseach John Bruton has come out hard in favour of retaining the Eight Amendment – the amendment that states an unborn baby has an equal right to life as its mother.
Mr Bruton confirmed that he definitely “won’t be voting in favour of repeal” and supports both women and babies.
The former Taoiseach was speaking after after the episcopal ordination of the new Bishop of Ossory, Dermot Farrell, in Kilkenny city. John and his wife Finola are friends with the new Bishop as he was parish priest of Mr Bruton’s home parish, Dunboyne in Co Meath, until his new appointment to Ossory.
Mr Bruton said:
“To arbitrarily say that, after whatever number of weeks, it’s okay to suppress that life is just not in accordance with the values of charity towards the weak in our communities that have exemplified the Irish over the last many centuries.”
“It’s true that we are probably one of the few countries in the world that has, in our constitution, an express recognition of the right to life of the unborn child, but that’s something we should be proud of.”
“I think if you accept that a child, before birth, is human then you have to ask yourself as a human, does it have human rights? If it is to have human rights, then surely the first right it must have is the right to life.”