Lenient Abortion Bill Struck Down in Ireland
- Veronica Neffinger iBelieve Contributor
- Updated Mar 14, 2017
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A bill that would have greatly relaxed the punishment for getting or performing an abortion in Ireland has been rejected.
Ireland currently has a strict ban on abortion, except for in cases in which the mother’s life is in danger. Getting or performing an abortion is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The new bill to relax the strict abortion ban would have made getting or performing an abortion essentially a legal activity, with only a “token” one pound ($1.22) fine imposed, according to The Christian Institute.
The bill was introduced by the People Before Profit party and was supported by abortion groups.
Abortion advocates and some in the media have even called for a referendum to be held in Ireland to try to relax the strict laws against abortion.
One abortion activist group recently even went so far as to defy the law and hand out abortion-inducing pills on college campuses in Ireland.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of The Life Institute said the advocates were acting like “drug pushers” and accused them of “hoping to profit from women’s fear and desperation in order to push their political agenda.”
Since 1984, Ireland has had a constitutional amendment protecting the lives of the unborn.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: March 14, 2017