Again Jerry Buttimer and Fine Gael would have you believe they are listening to both sides. Fine Gael and Labour are intent on legislating for the direct and intentional murder of innocent human life.
Showing posts with label James Reilly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Reilly. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
These are the words of abortionist Neville Sender and here is one of his victims. This is a
14 Week Suction Abortion.
In Ireland, Fine Gael and Labour are intent on legalising the murder of the unborn child. The abortionists know it is killing. Someone has to do it. It’s a profitable business. Those with an eye on making money will never allow the aborted child to go to ‘waste’. No. The pharmaceutical companies and cosmetic manufacturers benefit.
Do continue your prayers for Ireland. Next Saturday (23rd March), a rosary rally is taking place outside Leinster House in Dublin.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Comment:With abortion always intentionally tearing apart and ending the life of the unborn child, opposition to abortion continues. Yesterday, Thought and Action distributed leaflets in Athenry. In Article 40 of the Irish Constitution it states “All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law.” and “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn” What they are proposing is unconstitutional and immoral. The direct and intentional killing of the innocent, our future generation.
A MAJOR Fine Gael split on abortion is likely to accelerate after the announcement by Health Minister James Reilly that he will bring a memo to Cabinet on abortion legislation next week.
In a sign of ongoing tensions, the Sunday Independent has learnt that Fine Gael senator Fidelma Healy Eames has sent a letter to all Fine Gael TDs and senators warning that "a free vote is critical on matters of conscience".
Ms Healy Eames told her colleagues: "We have one of the safest countries in the world in which to have a baby and no doctor at the hearings ever withheld, or knew of any doctor to ever withhold, or refuse, medical treatment to a woman in difficulty in pregnancy in Ireland."
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
With mass opposition to tax on the family home this article outlines that certain folk will be exempt.
The new property tax that will take effect from 1st July 2013 was rushed through the Dail before Christmas, with the debate about its many and draconian provisions cut farcically short – in the end there were about three minutes per proposed amendment allotted for debates, and it was a pantomime display of democracy in action to see a Budget announcement one day, an expert report (which had been sitting on a minister’s desk for six months) published the next day and the next day still, 70-pages of new legislation.
In the rush, you might have missed some of the detail of the new household charge. And you might not be very pleased to learn that large country piles, and perhaps a few urban manors also, will not have to pay the tax on the value of so-called “amenity land” in excess of one acre.
Take the home on Shrewsbury Road in Dublin which was associated with the Dunnes, Sean and Gayle. “Walford” was bought for €58m at the height of the boom and was placed on the market with a guide price of €15m in 2011. It is understood that it still hasn’t sold. How much is it worth for property tax purposes? Difficult to say, but the property does have 1.5 acres of grounds. What we do know is the property tax will only apply to the first acre. As for the other 0.5 acre, that won’t be taxed at all.
Now take the country manor of embattled health minister James Reilly and his wife, Dot. Loughton House – pictured here – in Offaly is said to have 150 acres of amenity land, mostly woodland and gardens. How much will the man who has recently graced Stubbs Gazette have to pay in tax on the 13-bedroom mansion and surrounding land? Difficult to say, but what we do know, is that he will only have to value the sprawling estate as if it had one measly acre of amenity land.
In the Dail this week, the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan responded to questions from the Independent Kerry TD, Michael Healy-Rae and the Sinn Fein finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty. Minister Noonan did confirm that tennis courts are regarded as structures that need to be valued, and presumably outside swimming pools will be similarly treated. But if your home has private lakes, lawns, gardens, woodland only the first acre will be taken into account for valuing your property for the property tax.
Fair?
Friday, January 18, 2013
Thousands are expected in Dublin tomorrow for the vigil at 4.30pm.
DUBLIN, January 17, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) -- The Life Institute has said that a Vigil for Life to take place in Dublin this Saturday is crucial to opposing government plans to legalise abortion on suicide grounds.
The Health Minister, James Reilly, has said that the heads of a Bill legalising abortion would be ready by the end of January, but this has provoked unprecedented public concern according to the Life Institute.
Spokeswoman for the Institute, Niamh Uí Bhriain, said that volunteers had worked right through Christmas to deal with the flood of enquiries from around the country about the pro-life event.
"People are shocked that Enda Kenny and James Reilly seem determined to push through abortion legislation as quickly as possible, despite the clear evidence that abortion is not a treatment for suicide," she said.
"There is huge unease around the country as to what is being planned, especially given that Fine Gael made a pro-life promise on this issue in Election 2011," she added.
She also pointed out that at recent Parliamentary hearings every medical expert agreed that abortion was never a treatment for suicide.
"People who have never taken part in a pro-life event before are ringing us to say they will be there, and that they feel Fine Gael has let them down on an issue of enormous importance," said the pro-life spokeswoman.
Ms Ui Bhriain said that the Vigil would be a significant event in terms of expressing public opposition to abortion.
She said that thousands of people throughout Ireland were mobilising to bring friends and family to the Vigil for Life, which she said would build on the large crowd on the previous Vigil on December 4th.
The Vigil is being organised by a coalition of pro-life groups including Life Institute, Pro-Life, Campaign, Precious Life, Youth Defence and Family & Life.
Friday, January 11, 2013
See brief piece from Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/uninvited-obstetricians-seek-hearing-3348949.html
Friday January 11 2013
“A GROUP of obstetricians, who are opposed to abortion legislation, have described the Oireachtas Health Committee hearings as 'imbalanced' and 'unfair' because their views were not represented at it, writes Gemma O'Doherty.
The obstetricians, who say they were not invited to the Committee's oral sessions, have written to the Chairman of the Committee, Jerry Buttimer TD, and its members, requesting an extra oral session that would take account of their views.”
Jerry Buttimer has been quick to stress that the recent hearings on abortion were not ‘window dressing’. Whilst Fine Gael have given the appearance of having listened to ‘both sides’ they are legislating for ‘limited abortion’. Fianna Fail are happy to find a ‘middle way’ in relation to abortion. Buttimer challenged Youth Defence over their very effective pro-life billboards.
A point to be remembered is abortion is never moral and never necessary. There is no ‘middle way’. One is either for or against abortion.
Monday, January 7, 2013
This question has now been asked via the social media as it appears clear the government will legislate to allow the intentional and direct killing of the unborn child in the womb. They appear to be creating an impression that they are listening to both sides but a decision has already been made. Legislating on the ‘X’ Case will mean abortion on demand. It is for the legislators to prove otherwise. James Reilly was clear that this government would legislate.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
This new item has featured on T&A before but necessary to repost.
By Gemma O'Doherty
Saturday October 27 2012
STAFF at some taxpayer-funded pregnancy counselling services are putting women's lives at risk and breaking the law, an undercover probe has revealed.
The investigation was carried out over several months by a team of women, some from the pro-life movement, who secretly recorded counsellors at 11 locations around the country.
Some of the advice they gave about abortion was illegal, according to a leading lawyer, and some was medically dangerous, a top doctor says.
In several instances, women were told to hide their abortions from their doctors, a course of action that could endanger life if post-surgery abortion complications remain undiagnosed.
A small percentage of women suffer perforation of the womb following terminations, which can remain undetected but can cause problems in later pregnancies.
The Irish Independent has viewed and listened to the investigation tapes.
Following a five-hour examination of the material, the HSE has launched an investigation.
A spokesperson said that any potential breaches of the legislation will be pursued.
Gardai at Dublin's Store Street station are also looking into the findings of the probe.
At the Dundalk office of the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), a client was told she could lie to her doctor about having had an abortion, advice that could put a woman's life at risk, Professor Sam Coulter Smith, the master of Dublin's Rotunda Hospital, has warned.
Termination
He said he was aware of cases where women have died because they did not tell their doctors they'd had a termination.
At two Dublin branches of the IFPA in Tallaght and Cathal Brugha Street, women were also told they could conceal their abortions from doctors.
The same advice was given by a HSE employee at Ballinasloe Crisis Pregnancy Support Service in Galway.
In response, Dr Simon Mills, a barrister and medical doctor, said: "It is definitely reckless and probably negligent advice to tell a woman to conceal from doctors something that may be a vital part of her medical history.
"This is especially the case if she presented unwell in the immediate aftermath of a termination and felt that she shouldn't tell her doctor about it when it could be the key piece of information to deliver prompt and life-saving treatment.
"If somebody turned around and said the reason I didn't tell my doctor was because a counsellor told me it wasn't necessary, civil liability would almost certainly arise and I think it is possible that criminal liability could too."
The revelations come a week after the first private abortion clinic on the island of Ireland opened its doors in Belfast.
The investigation was carried out by a group of women posing as pregnant clients. The research team, made up of 30 people, included teachers, lawyers and doctors. Some of them come from the pro-life movement.
They instigated the probe after receiving information that some pregnancy advice centres may be breaking the law.
The clinics involved are overseen and funded by the HSE's Crisis Pregnancy Programme (CPP).
This state body was set up to cut the number of unplanned pregnancies and the number of Irish women travelling for abortions by making the other two options of parenting and adoption more 'attractive'.
At the Tallaght and Cork branches of the IFPA, women were told how to get an abortion pill, which is illegal here, by smuggling it into the State through Northern Ireland.
The HSE has confirmed that crisis pregnancy counsellors should not provide information on how to get the abortion pill.
Induce
The pills induce an abortion by causing a miscarriage. They should only be taken under medical supervision because they can cause bleeding, severe infection or, in rare instances, death.
A leading constitutional lawyer, Paul Anthony McDermott, has said that telling somebody how to access and take an illegal drug could be seen as "aiding and abetting a crime".
Some of the results of the undercover recording show:
- At Dundalk IFPA, a woman was told: "Now when you go for medical attention they have no way of knowing that you have had an abortion. You need to say that you had a miscarriage. They will know you were pregnant but you need to say that you had a miscarriage."
- A counsellor at Tallaght IFPA told a woman how to import the abortion pill illegally. She said: "If you have an address in the North or you can buy a PO box number, and get them to send it . . . You can. . . then go and collect the tablets in the North and take them down here."
- At the Sexual Health Centre in Cork, another woman was told how to get an abortion pill. Her counsellor said: "I suppose I'm not encouraging you to break the law or get into trouble . . . but it can be done."
She also admitted that giving this sort of advice could get her arrested.
According to the HSE's CPP, information given by counselling services about abortion must be truthful, objective and must not involve the 'promotion or advocacy' of it.
Last year, more than €3.1m of public money was spent on crisis pregnancy services overseen by the HSE.
A spokeswoman for the organisation said the CPP would "agree whatever measures necessary with these agencies to ensure that the highest possible standard in crisis pregnancy counselling is provided within the existing legal framework".
In a statement, the IFPA said that "all of its counsellors set out to work in adherence with the law" and that its services operate "under protocols and procedures which take into account all legislative requirements".
An offer to review the audio and video evidence from the probe was declined by the organisation.
It was furnished with the transcripts of the investigation by the Irish Independent three weeks ago.
Eilis Mulroy, a Galway-based solicitor who was part of the research team and is a member of the pro-life movement, said: "We had heard that questionable practices were going on.
"The 1995 Abortion Information Act is very clear when it comes to the obligations of counsellors and the information they are allowed to give.
"But our investigation found that this legislation is being breached on a wide scale and that Irish women in crisis pregnancies are getting dangerous medical advice.
"This reflects a high level of contempt for their health and well-being, not to mention the law."
Last night, the Irish Medicines Board expressed "grave concern and disappointment" that healthcare professionals would give advice on how to source illegal medicines.
A spokesperson said: "This contradicts our consistent warnings against such practices. We would additionally be concerned in relation to abortifacients in that self-medication is not appropriate for such products."
The most recent statistics show that 4,149 Irish women had terminations in Britain in 2011.
The revelations come as an expert group set up by Health Minister James Reilly prepares to publish a report on whether abortion should be legalised in Ireland under limited circumstances.
- Gemma O'Doherty
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
With Budget 2013 to be delivered there is nothing different in ideology between Labour and Fine Gael. They are incompetent. The people of Ireland deserve much better.
03/12/2012 - 13:03:51
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said today that he would "neither confirm nor deny" reports that he suggested James Reilly was not fit to be Health Minister.
It follows newspaper reports yesterday suggesting that Ruairi Quinn confided to a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party that Minister Reilly was "not up to the job".
However Minister Quinn said the Labour parliamentary party holds its meetings in private, and that he would not breach confidentiality.
"Whatever about leaks, I regard them [the meetings] as confidential," he said.
"We cannot do our business unless they remain confidential, and I'm not going to confirm or deny or in anyway change my comment that I made repeatedly about Dr Jim Reilly.
"He has both my confidence and my sympathy. He has an extremely difficult job to do."
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The party is over.
THE Government is at war three days before the most feared Budget in the history of the State, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
Today, it can also be revealed that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn told a behind-closed-doors meeting on Wednesday that members of the Cabinet shared the view of Labour TDs that Health Minister James Reilly, was "not up to the job and should go".
An atmosphere of volatility has reached boiling point at Government Buildings, where Fine Gael and Labour ministers gathered this weekend in a bid to reach agreement.
The tension is undoubtedly exacerbated by a dramatic 6 point drop in Fine Gael popularity in a national opinion poll conducted last week.
"It's getting very late – and nothing has been decided yet," one panicked cabinet member said yesterday. Last night's cabinet meeting, called to finalise the Budget, began at 5.30pm and finished at 9.30pm, breaking up with many important issues unresolved. The meeting had been due to last for two hours.
At one point, Labour ministers left the meeting to confer among themselves while their Fine Gael counterparts stayed in the cabinet room. The flare-up in hostilities is the result of underlying ideological differences between the coalition partners.
The two ministers in the crosshairs are Dr Reilly and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton.
Labour wants to increase the Universal Social Charge by 3 per cent for those earning €100,000 or more a year. But Fine Gael says that would amount to a tax increase and Enda Kenny has vowed there will be no tax rises.
Fine Gael countered that if the Labour demand is to be accepted, then social welfare rates must also be cut. But Eamon Gilmore has vowed that there will be no social welfare cuts.
As a stand-off between the parties continues this weekend, insiders say that Mr Gilmore and Mr Kenny went into a side-conference where it was agreed that the USC hike would be changed to a "mansion tax".
Last night, the Sunday Independent confirmed that a higher rate of the property tax is to be applied to houses worth, it is believed, more than €1m. Government sources last night referred to it as a "property-related wealth tax." The deal struck has defused the row over social welfare cuts and USC hikes – which are now "no longer on the table".
There is, however, no doubt as to how the public feels in advance of a €3.5bn package of cuts and taxes on Wednesday – the fifth such austerity Budget in a row.
A Sunday Independent/ Millward Browne opinion poll shows that a clear majority of people genuinely fear that they will be unable to meet their financial commitments after the Budget.
Asked if they thought the Budget could push them over the edge, 56 per cent said 'yes', 29 per cent said 'no' and 14 per cent did not know.
Further breakdown shows that of the consumer-driven 35-44 age group, a massive 64 per cent fear the Budget will shove them off the precipice.
Negotiations between the coalition partners are still expected to reach a compromise agreement – but there is no doubt that huge tensions exist between the parties and that these will leave a mark.
Those tensions have been a running sore ever since the then minister of state Roisin Shortall resigned in September following a decision by Dr Reilly to locate sites for primary health care centres in his constituency.
The ill-feeling will be compounded by the Sunday Independent revelation today on Labour ministers' view of their cabinet colleague, Dr Reilly.
Mr Quinn yesterday failed to respond to seven queries from this newspaper about his comments to the behind-closed-doors meeting on Wednesday, in which he said that members of the Cabinet shared the view of Labour TDs that Dr Reilly, was "not up to the job and should go".
At the same meeting, Joan Burton decried the manner in which the Government set about its preparation of the Budget. She said: "Ministers are making decisions in a vacuum. Only two politicians and the civil servants know what has been proposed by each minister."
She added: "This is the most difficult Budget to date – it has been a very difficult process for me."
Later in the week, Ms Burton's annoyance turned to fury at the Fine Gael proposal to cut social welfare rates, which, it is understood, emerged overnight from the Taoiseach's office.
She had believed that she had finalised her package of cuts – only to discover "at the last minute" of the Fine Gael plan to put social welfare cuts on the table.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael is intent on protecting Dr Reilly from a Labour onslaught.
But in what many will interpret as tacit Labour support of an €8m cut to home-help services, Mr Quinn told the Labour parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday: "We cannot be seen to be looking for a head to roll."
There was strong criticism by TDs of what was described as Dr Reilly's "privatisation agenda" and cuts to home help.
Dublin TD Aodhan O Riordain described Dr Reilly as the "elephant in the room" and said he was "not up to the job". He added: "We are going to have to do something about him and soon. The guy can't do his job, (he) makes a mess of everything."
However, Mr Quinn urged those present to be "very careful now", adding: "We cannot be seen to be looking for a head to roll."
Addressing Mr O Riordain, he said: "But your sentiments are shared by cabinet colleagues. We need to close ranks. This cannot be leaked out of this room. We are on the long march. Remember, we are only 21 months in office."
Earlier in the meeting, Mr Gilmore said Fine Gael did not have the same "unanimity" as Labour on the abortion issue, adding: "We can't play this as a win for us at their expense."
However, Dublin TD Kevin Humphries, who agreed that Labour needed to be "helpful" to Fine Gael on abortion, added: "'Helpful' is a two-way street." In the context of Budget negotiations, Mr Humphries said: "Fine Gael need to be helpful to us and they haven't been to date."
Mr O Riordain said that if Labour "pushes too hard to get more legislation" on abortion Fine Gael "might look for a deal from us in another area. Let's manage the Budget first."
The revelations offer an extraordinary insight into the manner in which the Government works – specifically, the barely disguised contempt which exist in Labour towards the Health Minister, but also how Labour is prepared to compromise on this in order to stay in office.
The latest Red C Poll for the Sunday Business Post shows that support for Mr Kenny's party has fallen below 30 per cent since it assumed office in March 2011.
Fine Gael's party support now stands at 28 (down six) while its coalition partners Labour gains one and now stands at 14. Fianna Fail is up one to 20, while Sinn Fein remain unchanged on 17. Independents have gained four and are now on 21.
- JOHN DRENNAN and DANIEL McCONNELL
Thursday, November 29, 2012
With Enda Kenny keen to avoid being branded the “Abortion Taoiseach’, Leo Varadkar has outlined he is not a ‘fan of referendums’. Many have noted that the “Expert Group” avoided an option of putting this to the Irish people. People across Ireland have spoken in relation to the killing of unborn babies.
O’Duffy fought for Faith and Nation. What does the modern day Fine Gael stand for?
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/varadkar-not-calling-for-an-abortion-referendum-576019.html
29/11/2012 - 11:27:35
The Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar is denying reports that he clashed with the Taoiseach Enda Kenny over the issue of a referendum on abortion.
The Irish Independent reported that Mr Varadkar told a Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting last night that a referendum on the issue of suicide as grounds for a termination should not be ruled out, but the Taoiseach disagreed.
Minister Varadkar said the events of parliamentary party meetings are private.
However, he did say that he has never called for a referendum.
Mr Varadkar said: "There certainly wasn't a row and I can tell you that for certain.
"What there was was a very good three-hour meeting where 50 to 60 people gave their views on how we should move forward on the abortion issue. I haven't and I am not calling for an abortion referendum, I am not a fan of referendums at all."
Monday, November 26, 2012
With many Labour politicians expected to retire at the next election, will their parting shot be, abortion. In the sham that was the Children’s Rights referendum, Labour urged a ‘Yes’ vote. Now, they are seeking to allow for the killing of the unborn child during a ‘limited abortion’.A vote for Labour will be a vote for abortion should this political party contest future elections.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1126/breaking5.html
Labour to seek limited abortion
MARY MINIHAN
Labour will this week press for an early Cabinet commitment to legislate for limited abortion amid party concerns about Minister for Health James Reilly’s ability to implement a new legal framework.
The expert group on abortion’s report will be brought to Cabinet tomorrow. It says legislation consistent with the Supreme Court ruling on the X case is required and this should be followed by ministerial regulations.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday said the Government would act “speedily” and insisted the Coalition would not be the seventh administration to fail to act on the 1992 judgment.
An early statement of intent by Cabinet this week would provide cover for Labour backbenchers who will come under pressure to vote for former Socialist TD Clare Daly’s revamped abortion Bill on Wednesday night.
A group of Fine Gael TDs opposed to what they regard as “liberalisation” of abortion laws is expected to lobby Dr Reilly with their concerns about cases involving threatened suicide. Cork deputy Jim Daly said he “would be concerned that that might lead to abortion on demand”.
There is widespread disgruntlement among Fine Gael TDs that the expert group’s report was leaked to media outlets before they saw it. Party chairman Charlie Flanagan said: “I find it very regrettable that the report has been leaked ... and the public representatives haven’t seen it yet.”
In addition, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald called for Dr Reilly’s resignation over the weekend after The Irish Times disclosed that two locations in Dr Reilly’s North Dublin constituency were added to a list of places chosen for primary care centres the evening before the Government announcement.
There is also some doubt within Labour on Dr Reilly’s ability to steer legislation for limited abortion through the Oireachtas. However, Mr Howlin said he “absolutely” supported his Cabinet colleague, whom he said had one of the most difficult jobs in public life.
Dáil debate
Mr Howlin said on RTÉ’s This Week he hoped a “calm, considered, comprehensive” debate would begin in the Dáil this week, “and very speedily thereafter the Government will come to its own decisions in terms of drafting legislation and presenting that to the Oireachtas”.
The expert group’s report says women who have been refused abortions should have access to an appeals process to seek a review. Particular centres where terminations can take place should be specified.
The group of medical and legal experts favour setting out the provision of abortion in primary legislation, with related operational matters delegated to the Minister to govern through regulations.
Abortions could take place only when a risk to the life of the mother could be averted by terminating a pregnancy.
The report was commissioned before the death of Savita Halappanavar in University Hospital Galway in October. Ms Halappanavar’s husband, Praveen, has said doctors refused a termination when she was miscarrying because a foetal heartbeat was still present.
Labour Senator Ivana Bacik said: “It will be difficult to oppose Clare Daly’s Bill without some statement of intent to legislate.”
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Article via the Life Institute.
November 7, 2012
The media cover-up of the IFPA scandal could put women's lives at risk
Last week the Irish Independent, to its credit, carried a major report revealing how the advice being given by the Irish Family Planning Association and other tax-payer funded agencies is putting the lives of Irish women at risk.
The Independent reported that "an undercover probe had revealed that women were told to hide their abortions from their doctors, a course of action that could endanger life if post-surgery abortion complications remain undiagnosed".
According to reporter, Gemma O'Donoghue: "at the Dundalk office of the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), a client was told she could lie to her doctor about having had an abortion, advice that could put a woman's life at risk, Professor Sam Coulter Smith, the master of Dublin's Rotunda Hospital, has warned".
Dr Coulter Smith explained that "There are certain recognised complications that can arise with terminations. Perforation of the womb is one of them and it can have a devastating effect on the integrity of the uterine wall in subsequent pregnancies."
"I am aware of cases where women have died because they didn't tell doctors they had had termination which caused their womb to perforate," he continued.
So here we had an taxpayer-funded body, using taxpayer funds to give 'advice' that could have caused a woman to lose her life. This was pretty shocking stuff, but there was more.
The investigation also showed that 'counsellors' at abortion referral agencies were telling women how to obtain the abortion pill illegally. At Tallaght IFPA one woman was told: "If you have an address in the North or you can buy a PO box number, and get them to send it . . . You can. . . then go and collect the tablets in the North and take them down here."
The Independent sais that following a five-hour examination of the material, the HSE launched an investigation, and that Gardai at Dublin's Store Street station are also looking into the evidence.
The rest of the Irish media then roundly ignored these shocking revelations. It seems that putting women's lives at risk - and using taxpayer funding while breaking the law - isn't of any interest to RTÉ, the Irish Times, the Journal etc.
Of course, it's been fairly obvious for a long time that abortion advocates are happy to overlook women's welfare to further the cause of killing unborn babies. But what may really be motivating the media cover-up is the risk of losing abortion campaigners their enormous tax payer funding.
In the past ten years the IFPA has seen their income more than double because of lavish tax payer funding, and they have received an eye-watering €10 million from the Irish government since the Crisis Pregnancy Agency first began pouring cash into the abortion-advocating outfit.
Being so flush with cash allows the IFPA ample time and resources to continue their push for abortion, and to engage U.S. lawyers to bring Ireland to the European Court in an attempt to foist abortion on Ireland.
If the HSE - and Health Minister, James Reilly - were serious about accountability and about protecting women in crisis, they would immediately suspend all funding of the IFPA pending a full investigation of illegal practices at the abortion referral agency.
And surely James Reilly should be asking some searching questions of the former IFPA chief, Tony O’Brien, who he has appointed as head of the Irish health service. Yesterday, the Senate heard calls for an open and transparent investigation into allegations of illegal and dangerous activities in abortion referral agencies. If the Minister was serious about protecting women's health he would establish such an inquiry immediately and suspend funding for the IFPA immediately.
Or will the practice of putting women's lives at risk simply continue? Any media worth its salt would make sure to find answers to those questions. Instead, with some few exceptions, we're seeing that the Irish media seem only too anxious to perpetuate the cover-up.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
BY HILARY WHITE
Tue Nov 20, 2012 10:53 EST
DUBLIN, November 20, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The new head of a government-appointed inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar has said that countries with restrictive abortion laws need to be “challenged” to reconsider legalization. While the international abortion lobby, mainstream media, and abortion campaigners in parliament and at the EU are clamoring for Ireland to immediately pass legislation legalizing abortion, the Health Services Executive announced today that Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, the head of obstetrics and gynecology at St Georges Hospital, will lead the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Halappanavar’s death.
Professor Arulkumaran is the president-elect of the abortion advocacy group International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). He authored a statement on the “rights-based approach” to childbirth, published in 2009 in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, in which he said that countries with “restrictive abortion laws” should “look at the evidence available in favor of liberal abortions laws and debate the possibility of making the choice of termination of pregnancy a legal right for women.”
“In the same breath, it is important to stress that wherever there is a liberal law on termination of pregnancy, the provision of safe and comprehensive abortion care is paramount to a successful reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality as a result of the complications of abortion,” he said.
The country’s leading pro-life advocates have expressed “serious concerns” about the appointment, calling it a “grave error” that compromises the credibility of the inquiry. Given the huge public interest and pressure from the abortion lobby, they said, the inquiry must take care to avoid all possible appearance of having a political agenda.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said that the government must immediately move to replace Dr. Arulkumaran to ensure a fair investigation. “It is difficult to see how that can be achieved by appointing someone to lead the team who has clear bias in favour of abortion,” she said.
FIGO is a major player in the international abortion movement. It includes representatives of every international abortion group, including International Planned Parenthood and the UNFPA, on its Committee for Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights. The US-based Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues described FIGO as supporting a “radically pro-abortion agenda” in the 124 countries in which it operates.
Six other members of the team investigating Savita Halappanavar’s death include experts in anesthesia, midwifery, obstetrics and gynecology, who will review the care provided to Mrs. Halappanavar and submit a report to the Dail. HSE’s National Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Dr Philip Crowley, told a press conference today that with the appointment of Dr. Arulkumaran, “we will have a thorough, independent, and expeditious review of the facts surrounding the tragic death of Mrs. Halappanavar.”
Health Minister Dr. James Reilly said that major concern for the government in appointing the inquiry was to ensure the appearance of objectivity and independence from the government.
Dr. Reilly also told media that the long awaited report from the government’s expert group examining the country’s abortion law would be brought to the Cabinet today, but said that it will not be until early in the new year that any decisions are made. He told RTE radio, the national broadcaster, that it would be a “derogation of duty” not to deal with the abortion law, saying that every woman has a right to have “legal clarity regarding treatment available to her.”
“I have read the report and I need to study it further. It’s a hugely complex issue that has divided the country… and we’re not going to solve it in a matter of weeks,” he said. Meanwhile, the government has received a letter signed by 50 Members of the European Parliament demanding that Ireland legislate on abortion.
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Saturday, November 17, 2012
Firstly, many thanks to the alternative media, the real free press that Belloc wrote of. True to form RTE and others have been disgusting. An excellent article here from Hilary White.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/the-whole-world-is-baying-for-the-blood-of-irish-children
BY HILARY WHITE
ROME, November 16, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At LifeSiteNews.com, we like to report facts. Things that are actually happening, that people are actually doing and saying. Speculation on things that might be happening, or things that might have happened, is a realm for irresponsible tabloids and the leftist gutter press. Which is why I was hesitant to produce a piece talking any further about the case in Ireland that is arousing passions around the globe.
But I dive in because it seems as if the whole world has suddenly fallen into a frenzy to murder Irish children. I’ll say it again, just so we’re clear: the calls for legalisation of abortion in Ireland, always carefully framed in the media and parliaments as a matter of “women’s rights,” is a call for the unrestricted slaughter of innocent children.
Having got the basic facts of the argument clear, perhaps we can look at the details. We know that a young mother died on October 28th in University Hospital, Galway after she came in presenting symptoms of miscarriage. The hospital has said she died a few days later of septicaemia. At some point, exactly when is unclear, the woman’s husband went to the press, or perhaps the abortion lobbyists, and said that the hospital and the country’s laws, “Catholic ethos” and medical antipathy towards abortion caused his wife’s death.
All else after that is carefully couched around in journalistic disclaimers like “reportedly” and “…he alleged.” Meanwhile, the bereaved husband, in-laws and parents of the young mother have retreated to India and are demanding that Ireland liberalise its abortion laws. This demand is being joined by the Indian Ambassador to Ireland, the legalisation-pushers in Ireland’s parliament, the secular media and professional abortion lobbyists, as well as, perhaps most strangely, the official opposition party of India, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
This despite the fact – as has been pointed out several times in editorials, press releases, blog posts and hundreds of comments boxes both Catholic and non-Catholic – that abortion is not a medical treatment for either miscarriage or for severe systemic infections and no one has any idea whether Savita Halappanavar really wanted an abortion, or whether “early induction” of labour would have saved her life.
Indeed, one doctor in India has pointed out that abortion in such a case would probably have only hastened Savita’s death. Gynaecologist Hema Divakar, resident-elect of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), has told The Hindu, “Based on information in the media, in that situation of septicaemia, if the doctors had meddled with the live baby, Savita would have died two days earlier.”
In response to the media frenzy the Irish government has launched an investigation – giving the family first say as to what is and is not investigated and made public – and has said that nothing will be decided until the full facts of the case have been made clear. Galway University Hospital is already conducting an internal investigation and the Health Service Executive’s investigation will be joined by an independent external expert in obstetrics and gynaeocology.
So far the story makes a modicum of sense, but quite a bit of the rest of it does not add up.
Ireland’s Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly, has said he is in possession of facts that cannot at this time be revealed, but that he has no evidence that the “Catholic ethos” of Ireland or the hospital prevented Savita from receiving proper medical treatment.
Even pro-life advocates have pointed out that the current law and medical guidance include the possibility of abortion in the “rare” cases where the woman’s life may be endangered. The University Hospital would certainly have known this, it being the standard of gynecological care throughout the country. Indeed, I was told today by a reliable Irish source that on the gynecological staff at that hospital is at least one “rabid” pro-abortion doctor who would certainly have made sure that this would have happened had it been medically possible. Eilís Mulroy has written in The Irish Independent, under the headline “Pro-choice side must not hijack this terrible event”, asking, “Was Ms Halappanavar treated in line with existing obstetrical practice in Ireland?
In light of these facts, it seems extremely unlikely, except perhaps in the dreams of rabid anti-Catholics, that the doctors at the hospital would have simply said, “This is a Catholic country, we don’t do that here.”
I also hope I am not the only one wondering why the Indian Ambassador to Ireland has decided to weigh in, adding his voice to the pressure of the abortion lobby/Labour Party/media consortium who have been pressing for years for legalisation. Why is the Indian Ambassador suddenly so interested in Ireland’s abortion laws? Is it really normal practice in modern diplomatic circles to join in partisan demands of a sovereign country to change so fundamental a law?
Mr. Debashish Chakravarti may have revealed more about his own country’s problems than Ireland’s when he issued a statement today claiming, with no more evidence than anyone else has, that Savita Halappanavar “would still be alive if she had been treated in India.” Since when does a diplomatic attaché tell the host country which laws to overturn?
Perhaps someone just forgot to show Mr. Chakravarti the report by the World Health Organisation showing that Ireland, with its abortion restrictions, has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world, one that is vastly better than India’s.
How much better? The WHO’s document shows that from data gathered up to 2005, Ireland had one maternal death. Yes, one. India had 450 per 100,000 live births for a total of about 117,000. Under India’s current law allowing abortion virtually on demand, about 11 million children are (officially reported) killed by abortion annually – just under two and half times the entire population of the Irish Republic – and around 20,000 women die of complications related to these legal abortions.
But calm deliberation on medical, legal or demographic facts has never been the M.O. of abortion lobbyists or their supporters in media or parliaments, and the country is in an uproar with the media/abortion lobby demanding legislation, right NOW, to legalise abortion. Pro-life people I’ve spoken to in Ireland fear that the pressure may prove too much for the waffling and half-hearted pro-life Irish politicians.
The Irish Times ran the first piece on the case on Wednesday, written by the daughter of one of Ireland’s leading Trotskyite abortion lobbyists, with the completely unbiased and totally objective headline, “Woman ‘denied a termination’ dies in hospital”. This shot the journalistic pinball around the mainstream media world, bringing predictable headlines from the usual suspects: the Guardian: “Ireland’s abortion ban: a history of obstruction and denial,” the BBC: “Woman dies after abortion request ‘refused’ at Galway hospital,” the Toronto Star: “Senseless death of Irish woman exposes grim reality for women”.
In this atmosphere of impartial objectivity, Indian newspapers are taking up Mr. Chakravarti’s cry, issuing such headlines as, “Ireland murders pregnant Indian dentist” and “Indian woman died pleading, Irish abortion laws denied a termination”. Several Indian television stations are running footage of Savita’s mother saying, “In an attempt to save a four-month-old fetus they killed my… daughter. How is that fair you tell me?” Demonstrations have been organised by India’s main opposition, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party with women carrying placards saying, “Catholic Ireland can’t allow the murder of innocent women”.
Praveen Halappanavar is in India now, also issuing demands that Ireland change its laws. “I have lost my wife, but would like to continue the fight for justice. I will return to Galway and continue the fight. The Indian government should wake up and prevail upon the Irish government to make changes to their law,” he said.
I have several other questions that I imagine will not come up in the medical investigations. For starters: the connections between the Halappanavar family and the abortion lobbyists and the rabidly pro-abortion media remain unclear. How exactly did the Irish Times become aware of the case? They quote Praveen Halappanavar extensively, but did he contact them or did he speak to someone in the abortion lobby first?
Because a leaked e-mail obtained by pro-life activists makes it clear that the Irish Choice Network knew the story was going to come to light by November 11th. Who tipped them off in time to organize their “spontaneous” demonstration outside the Dail on Wednesday? Finally, does anyone else wonder and marvel at the fact that this story “broke” on the day that the long-awaited report from the government’s Expert Group on Ireland’s abortion law was released (but still not published)?
Of course, the whole world, competing with each other to show how deeply they care about the tragic death of a beautiful young woman by calling as loudly as possible for the legalization of the killing of Ireland’s unborn children, are going to pour into our own commboxes demanding to know how I can be so callous and unfeeling. All I can say is, it’s a sort of tick of mine to use my brain, especially when stories don’t add up.Follow us on Twitter:
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