Bishop Francis Duffy Bishop Francis Duffy of Ardagh and Clonmacnois has defended the Eighth Amendment as a “life-affirming constitutional provision” and has argued that the issue merits discussion from the perspective of Church teaching.
In the pastoral letter released on March 23, the bishop said that human life begins at conception and that nobody has the right to end the life of another.
“The right to life is the most fundamental right of all. Once human life begins it should be allowed to continue,” he said.
The bishop added that the removal of the Eighth Amendment will not “serve the common good”, and that even a child conceived in difficult circumstances must be protected.