Irish Archbishop Éamon Martin is urging Catholics to speak out against the growing push to cut off unborn babies’ rights in Ireland.
In his message Saturday, the Irish Catholic leader called Catholics to be “missionaries for the cause of life,” The Irish Times reports.
Killing an unborn child is “always evil and can never be justified,” Martin said, Brinkwire reports. “Speak to your families, your children and grandchildren, friends and colleagues about cherishing the precious gift of life at all times from conception to natural death.”
Right now, Ireland is under intense pressure to repeal its Eighth Amendment, which protects unborn babies’ right to life. Abortion activists, backed by some of the world’s richest men, are pushing the pro-life country to legalize abortion on demand. In December, a biased government committee recommended that Ireland repeal its Eighth Amendment and legalize unlimited abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Martin said the recommendation would lead to “a very liberal abortion regime,” but hope remains for unborn babies if Catholics and other pro-life advocates speak out, he continued.
“Speak the truth about life, and speak it with love. Despite the strong pressures to remain silent, do not be afraid to witness to the equality of all life in private conversations and public discussions in the coming months,” the archbishop said.
“As citizens committed to the common good, you have a democratic right to make your views known, respectfully, to our public representatives,” he continued.
In the message, Martin emphasized the value of every human life and the importance of continuing to protect all lives.
“All human life is sacred. All human life is precious. This is why the direct and intentional taking of innocent human life is always gravely wrong,” he said. “Article 40.3.3 [the Eighth Amendment] is a declaration of equality and respect for human life – it represents, at the very foundations and substructure of our laws, a conviction that all human life is equally worth cherishing.”
He predicted that if the recommendations pass, they will be a step toward an even wider expansion of abortion in Ireland.
“To repeal this Article will leave unborn children defenseless, and completely at the mercy of whatever abortion laws are introduced in Ireland – both immediately and as will inevitably be further broadened in future years,” Martin said.
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Legalizing abortion in Ireland will cause more women and children to suffer and die. Pro-lifers estimate that the Eighth Amendment has saved approximately 100,000 unborn babies’ lives from abortion in Ireland.
“We should focus our energies and resources on making Ireland the most welcoming country in the world for a woman and her baby in the womb,” the archbishop said.
A referendum vote on abortion is expected in May or June, prior to Pope Francis’s visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families. Abortion activists are afraid that the Catholic leader’s visit could influence voters to support unborn babies’ right to life.
Polls indicate Irish voters do not want abortion on demand. A recent poll by the Irish Times/Iposos MRBI found that just 24 percent of voters said they would support a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment and legalize abortion for any reason up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
