Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross has called on voters to question election hopefuls on the constitutional protection for the unborn.
Amid ongoing calls to repeal the pro-life amendment to the Constitution, Bishop Buckley said in a statement at the weekend that “candidates in the election should be questioned politely but firmly not just on their future intentions but on their past record”, with regard to the abortion issue.
He also says in his statement that there is no moral justification for a lack of housing. It is an issue that demands investment, and that while the vast majority of refugees are law-abiding, they must respect the values, laws and traditions of the host countries.
Referencing the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, introduced by Government in 2013, Bishop Buckley insisted that, despite the Act’s title, the legislation “directly targeted the life of the unborn child and did so in the full knowledge that abortion is not a treatment for suicidal feelings”.
Going further, the Bishop pointed out that debates on the abortion issue frequently give rise to phrases such as ‘fatal foetal abnormalities’ but the word ‘fatal’ was misleading since there was “no medical evidence where a doctor can predict, with certainty, the lifespan of babies before they are born”.
“The term ‘incompatible with life’, which is also used, is a hurtful phrase since it implies that a baby’s life is worthless… parents often say that the time they have with their baby, however short, is very precious,” he said.
Bishop Buckley’s statement was issued just days after the first televised debate of the election campaign between the four main party leaders. In that debate, both Taoiseach Enda Kenny and opposition Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin refused to defend the current constitutional protection for the unborn, while leader of the coalition Labour Party, Joan Burton, and Sinn Féin’s leader Gerry Adams openly advocated legislating for abortion in Ireland.
Separately, Ruth Coppinger of the Socialist Party has called for the removal of the 8th Amendment, while Lucinda Creighton, leader of Renua, has said her party is open to a referendum on abortion.
