Responding to the news today that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar intends campaigning for changes to Ireland’s abortion laws, the Pro Life Campaign said that “while the Taoiseach’s decision was well flagged and doesn’t come as a surprise, it is nonetheless deeply regrettable that the leader of our country is going to campaign for the removal of the most basic human right, namely the right to life itself, from our Constitution.
PLC spokesperson Cora Sherlock said: “Dismantling the 8th Amendment is presented by some as a liberal and enlightened move. But when you look behind the rhetoric, there’s nothing progressive about it at all. What repeal or replacing the 8th Amendment would actually involve, if voted through, is stripping unborn babies of all meaningful protections which in turn would inevitably lead to countless babies having their lives deliberately ended with the full sanction of the State. That is the simple and stark reality.
“I’m confident however that as the campaign gets underway, support for keeping the 8th Amendment will grow and grow. There’s no denying that tens of thousands of people are alive today thanks to the 8th Amendment. When people get a chance to reflect on this and on the tragic reality of legalised abortion in other jurisdictions, I believe they will vote to retain the 8th Amendment.”