Brandon Scott
Thousands attended a pro-life rally in Dublin city centre last Saturday which heard calls for the Government to establish a special task force to tackle the “spiralling abortion rate”, with speakers saying politicians must “wake up” to the fact that abortion numbers have more than tripled since 2018.
The Rally for Life also heard that there was a disconnect between the Government and the people on the abortion issue, and that ministers needed to stop relying on the “same NGOSswho advised them it was a good idea to ask the people to take the word ‘mother’ out of the Constitution”.
Sandra Parda of the Rally for Life Committee said that it was “simply not good enough for the government to stick its head in the sand year after year as the abortion rate continues to rise”.
Both Ms Parda and Independent TD, Carol Nolan, who also addressed the packed rally, said that women needed support and real choices, and that women were being “betrayed” by the lack of support for unexpected pregnancies.
Deputy Nolan also backed calls for the establishment of a special task force, saying that “thousands of women are being betrayed by the over-promotion of abortion as the only possible response to pregnancy in certain circumstances and the cruel under- promotion of life affirming alternatives”.
“I have stated previously that we are now confronting an epidemic of loss. That, coupled with the virtual certainty that the numbers of abortions will continue to escalate at an annual level, this should be treated as a health policy emergency,” the Independent TD said.
The Rally, which gathered at Parnell Square before marching to Custom House Quay where speeches were heard, also heard from Kaya Jones, Grammy winner, and former member of chart-topping group The Pussycat Dolls.
The songwriter and singer said she had a message for young women at the Rally in particular: “you are made to be loved and respected and cherished, not to be told that you must have a choice that no woman really wants – which is to end the life of her child”.
She said that her personal experience of the music industry – where as a 19 year old she had to perform on stage while still suffering the after-effects of abortion – had led her to the realisation that it was exploitative and demeaning to women. She said when she found she was pregnant she had been told to “get rid of it” by those she felt were in charge of her career and her life.
Ms Jones, who won a Grammy in 2019 after she had left The Pussycat Dolls, told the Rally “I have a Grammy, but none of it will bring my children back” as she opened up on her abortion regret.