Niamh Uí Bhriain,
Photo Credit: Chai Brady A move to allow paid leave to mothers and the fathers following a miscarriage or stillbirth is “one that I’d welcome here,” according to Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute.
This comes on the back of New Zealand’s introduction of just that following a vote in parliament in what is one of the first provisions of its type in the world.
“It is one of those issues, I think that previously, people were just expected to get on with it and often that kind of approach – it was more guided by misunderstanding than any kind of cruelty,” Ms Uí Bhriain told The Irish Catholic.
“People thought it’s difficult to discuss this issue, perhaps it would only upset the mother if you raised it. I suppose we have a better understanding now that people need support and often want an acknowledgement of the fact that they lost a baby.”
The key point for many women, according to Ms Uí Bhriain, is the fact that they’ve lost a child. “Everybody wants the value of their child to be recognised,” she said, adding that it raises the discussion of the humanity of the child for countries that have introduced abortion, such as Ireland and New Zealand.
“We have this situation where unborn children only have value when another human being decides they have value,” she said.