We should be proud of Eighth

I am so sick of listening to the misinformation in this debate, I have to point out some actual facts on the issue of abortion.

Firstly, the benefits of the Eighth Amendment are to be seen extensively in Ireland. A recent independently produced actuarial report compared the number of Irish women who travel abroad to avail of abortion, to abortion rates in other EU countries. It concluded that the Eighth Amendment has saved at least 100,000 lives in the last two decades. That’s the population of Co Kilkenny. In Ireland, we have a culture of equality and inclusion that we can be proud of and the Eighth Amendment is part of that.

Irish women have spoken openly through the pro-life campaign about the Eighth Amendment providing them with the space to think and reflect. In this space and time, they changed their minds and did not have an abortion.

They have expressed how deeply grateful they are for this. Also, it is important to note that eight out of 10 rape victims did not have an abortion.

Secondly, abortion is a violent method designed to kill a life. No fewer than 191,014 abortions were carried out in England and Wales in 2015.

Thirdly, the humanity of the baby needs to be highlighted. With the use of ultrasounds, we know that the baby’s heart starts beating at 21 days. At just six weeks, the baby’s eyes and eyelids, nose, mouth, and tongue have formed. Electrical brain activity can be detected at six or seven weeks, and by the end of the eighth week, all the baby’s organs are developing.

We can’t deny now in 2018 that this is a live, vulnerable and innocent baby, whose life is in our hands.

Frances Kelleher Killarney, Co Kerry