For the past several months, an Oireachtas Committee looking at Assisted Suicide has been hearing from expert and other witnesses in regard to the medical, political, social and ethical issues around the frankly disturbing concept of killing another person under the guise of compassion. One of the members of the Committee, Gino Kenny, who is…
Pro-life frontline organisations must be supported as abortions surge
I imagine that most people reading this are saddened and appalled by the number of abortions now taking place in Ireland. We’ve gone from being one of the safest countries in the world for mother and baby, to seeing our abortion rate soar to heart-breaking numbers in just under five years. Equally saddening is the smug enthusiasm…
An elderly person should never be made to feel unwanted
A report on assisted suicide in Oregon showed that over 53% of people whose lives were ended by the procedure in 2020 reported the fear of being a burden on family, friends or other caregivers as a reason.
Good news: abortion pill reversal may work 81% of time
It’s always been a bit of a conundrum to me that those who shout loudest about women having a ‘right to choose’ also often seem most adamantly opposed to actually giving women real choices. This is very evident in the debate around abortion pill reversal – a process by which doctors can prescribe progesterone to help a woman…
Would they care more if the nuns could be blamed?
The appalling abuse of girls by gangs of predatory men, or Tusla’s failure to protect vulnerable children in their care, makes for uncomfortable reading. That’s understandable. We’d all rather talk about the weather or RTÉ’s latest payments shenanigans. But there comes a point when it is incumbent on those in authority to take action –…
Michael D Higgins is strangely muted on some subjects
As most voters will know, the President of Ireland is a role that is supposedly above politics – whatever that phrase actually means. As has been noted, the practice of the president refraining from political commentary was more of a convention than a constitutional obligation, but in many ways it made sense. The president, the…
People should be consulted on migration
In March of last year, emails between senior officials in several Government departments discussing the preparations necessary for a surge in the number of people arriving in Ireland who would need accommodation, were released under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act. The expected newcomers under discussion in that instance were Ukrainian people displaced by the war,…
TDs must keep their promise to voters after abortion referendum
Earlier this month, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that 8,500 women had availed of abortion services in Ireland in 2022. He sounded pretty pleased about the numbers, even though, if he is correct, it would represent an enormous jump in the number of babies being killed by abortion. In fact, it would represent a…
The ‘repeal’ Government voted down an eviction ban for pregnant women
The View Thousands of families across the country are frantic with worry as the end of March approaches and the eviction ban is lifted. Losing your home, or knowing that you may have to leave rental accommodation despite having nowhere to go must be a genuinely terrifying feeling. In this climate, with acute rental shortages and…
Foot-dragging on Covid-19 inquiry is unacceptable
For many people, the Covid-19 lockdowns and the seemingly never-ending restrictions which were imposed on the public, have faded into memory. The Government, seemingly eager to avoid examining any mistakes made, have been foot-dragging on the establishment of an inquiry into its pandemic response, even though the period saw measures enforced which were unprecedented in…