Letter to be read out at all Mass at the weekend 19/20 May, 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
When I wrote in February on the forthcoming Referendum, I acknowledged the delicacy of discussing the topic of abortion. I invited you to be missionaries for the cause of life and I am grateful to the many who have done so. It is a noble cause to uphold the sacredness of human life.
In a few days’ time the Referendum is taking place. Many, many issues have opened up in public debates. We have heard many heart-rending stories on all sides. And yet, on Friday, May 25th, we are being asked to make one specific political decision – do we want to remove the rights of the unborn baby from the Constitution and insert a provision that gives the Dáil the power to permanently put in place an abortion regime that would be amongst the most extreme in the world.
The Government has indicated they will introduce a liberal regime of abortion in Ireland that allows abortion, not just up to 12 weeks, but in some cases also right up to the point of birth.
This is a pivotal moment for our society and for how we cherish life in this country.
To vote “yes” is to remove the rights of the unborn baby from the Constitution and allow for a liberal regime of abortion.
To vote “no” is to retain the provision that protects the rights of the unborn baby.
Much of the conversation across this debate has been about ‘care’. We are fundamentally a good people; a caring people. I acknowledge those in favour of repealing the amendment are caring people too.
We care about our elderly. We care about our sick. We care about the marginalised, whether socially, economically or geographically. We care about people with special needs. We care for people with mental health problems. But our care for others in our own lives is at its most intense when it comes to children, not least those in the womb.
At no other stage in our lives do we bring members of our family to visit doctors so frequently (even as a precaution), as we do when the child is in the womb. Those who can afford to, engage private consultants to strengthen that care and support, to make sure everything is going well. Why? Because it is undeniably life in the womb; life that we crave to protect and nurture. Which is why this proposal to repeal the 8th, this request to vote for the introduction of abortion and make it possible to take that life away, the life of the most vulnerable and precious, flies in the face of what we are about as a people. Each and every one of those lives are entitled to that love and care. Each and every one of them as precious as the other.
We must care, too, about those who will be affected if the 8th amendment is not repealed. We must find ways to exercise that care better for mothers who have unwanted pregnancies, to support them through those pregnancies. We absolutely must redouble our efforts to care for those with crisis pregnancies; their difficulty, their crisis is so great that they must be supported every step of the way. We must care for our young people by educating them with compassion and understanding about how they care for themselves in a way that reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies.
All of that caring must intensify beyond Friday next. The way to care, however, is not with a swipe of a pen on Friday that will herald a liberal abortion regime that denies the love, the care that this society has been built on, a love and care for our most vulnerable. Our most precious – the baby in the womb. We must find another way.
The real measure of civilisation is how we treat the most vulnerable members of our society. The most vulnerable are the voiceless unborn.
Perhaps, because of the torrent of opinions and views you are hearing, you are unsure about what way to vote. Then I recommend you ask yourself what is the safest course of action. I believe it is to retain the amendment as it protects the life of unborn babies by giving them rights they otherwise won’t have at all.
When abortion becomes legal in a country, experience has shown that it becomes gradually more acceptable. In England and Wales today, one in five pregnancies end in abortion. A group of Irish lawyers, including several former High Court judges, have written recently: ‘the Government proposals provide for abortion for any reason up until 12 weeks and for abortion up until viability (that is, where a mother has carried her child for up to 6 months) for reasons so similar to the legislation in Great Britain that there is no rational basis for thinking that they would operate differently.’
The Referendum provides each of us with a unique possibility and responsibility. I encourage you to make sure you go out and vote No.
In the meanwhile, on this Pentecost Sunday, let us pray for one another, remembering especially the unborn and those affected by this debate, not least those women who have found themselves personally at a painful crossroad regarding abortion in the past. May the Spirit grant us consolation and courage, light and wisdom.
With Kind Regards,
+Brendan Leahy, Bishop of Limerick.