Voters should remember that ethics are just as important as economics when they go to the polls in this year's general election.That's the message from the Pro Life Campaign (PLC) as they urge the electorate to consider the ethical record of all the parties in the run up to the election which is expected to be held in the summer.
The PLC has just completed the first phase of a campaign calling on voters to 'think Pro Life' when they go to the polls. The caption on the current leaflet reads: 'Your Vote Matters – use it to protect human life'. The PLC will continue its campaign up until election day calling on candidates and parties to state precisely where they stand on important right to life issues.
The campaign comes amidst growing disappointment among pro life activists regarding the Government's performance on ethical issues.
A spokeswoman for the PLC, Dr Audrey Dillon, pointed to recent 'worrying straws in the wind'. She specifically referred to the Government's pre-trial submission to the European Court of Human Rights in the D case. This case involved a woman who alleged that Ireland's prohibition of abortion breached her rights under the European Convention, to which Ireland has signed up.
The Government's submission before the Court suggested that 'a tenable argument' could be made that unborn children with a disability are not protected under Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution.
'The job of our political leaders is to lead and enact legislation needed to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us,' Dr Dillon continued. 'So we should be concerned politically when we see our legislators shying away from legislation needed to protect our unborn fellow human beings.'
Dr Dillon also referred to the Government’s decision in July at the EU Council of Ministers not to support countries like Germany, Poland and Slovakia in opposing destructive research on human embryos as another example of the Government's poor performance on life-related issues.
The PLC have previously expressed dismay over other Government decisions. The Commission for Assisted Human Reproduction, appointed by the Government in 2000, voted by 24 members to one to approve embryonic stem cell research, which involves the destruction of human embryos.
The PLC argued that this result did not represent the true balance of views on this complex issue.
'Unless they get their act together and draw up an ethically coherent, consistently pro-life approach to important life issues, they simply won’t have time to reverse the alienation of pro-life voters,' Dr Dillon concluded.
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