An Irish High Court judge has ruled that the rights of the unborn extend “well beyond the right to life alone”, and that those rights are “significant”.
The ruling, by Justice Richard Humphries, comes as part of a protracted deportation case.
In the case under review, the state had, in 2008, secured a deportation order for a Nigerian man who was attempting to claim refugee status. The man’s deportation was delayed with a series of appeals, and then became subject to a judicial review.
The man had, at the time of his application for residence, fathered a child, as yet unborn, with an Irish woman with whom he is still partnered. The rights of the child at this time have an impact on the strength of his case to stay in the country.
Patrick Buckley, from the Dublin office of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said: “The ruling is vitally important at a time when the status of unborn babies in Ireland is once again under grave threat from pro-abortion organisations and the media.”
A coalition of campaign groups have pressed for a repeal of the Eighth Amendment to Ireland’s constitution, which affirms the right to life of the unborn child.
In 2013, Ireland legalised abortion to protect the life of the mother, including where there was a risk of suicide.
Buckley said: “In the light of the High Court’s ruling, we call upon the Government to move to repeal the pro-abortion Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, and to oppose any moves to repeal the Eighth Amendment.”
Pro-life speaker is named a Catholic Woman of the Year
A religious sister, a mother, a Natural Family Planning tutor and a trainer of catechists are among those honoured in this year’s Catholic Women of the Year awards. The awards, announced in the Walsingham magazine The Portal, will be presented in London in October.
The youngest of the winners is Catherine MacMillan, a writer, speaker and musician (and daughter of the composer Sir James MacMillan). She became unexpectedly pregnant at 18, and resisted pressure from doctors to have an abortion. Her child, Sara, was born severely disabled, and died earlier this year aged five. Catherine has spoken and written about Sara, saying the pain of bereavement is “worth it to have those almost six years of joy, love, heartache and extreme pride … What we had is the alternative to the guilt and the pain of being pressured to end something that is not our choice to end.”
The other winners are: Olive Duddy, a GP and director of the Natural Family Planning Teachers Association; Caroline Farey, a trainer of catechists currently based at the School of the Assumption at Buckfast Abbey; and Sister Jane Louise, a former Anglican sister now leading the Sisters of Our Lady of Reconciliation based in Walsingham.
Belfast Anglicans honour Catholic
A Catholic priest in Belfast has been appointed to a role at the city’s Anglican cathedral. Fr Edward O’Donnell has joined the chapter of St Anne’s Church of Ireland cathedral.
He is one of three “ecumenical” canons and will serve alongside two women, both by coincidence called the Rev Ruth Patterson. The first is a Presbyterian, the other a Methodist. Fr O’Donnell said the appointment was a “significant step” and showed “generosity” of the dean.
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