{"id":192091,"date":"2018-12-03T06:25:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=192091"},"modified":"2018-12-03T00:16:01","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T06:16:01","slug":"irish-lawmakers-born-alive-disabled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/irish-lawmakers-born-alive-disabled\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish lawmakers refuse to protect born alive infants, disabled preborn babies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mere months after Ireland passed a referendum to eliminate legal protections for preborn children, its politicians have rejected commonsense protections against discriminatory abortions, as well as protections for infants born alive during abortions.<\/p>\n

Pro-life politicians introduced an amendment to legislation legalizing elective abortion that would protect preborn babies from discriminatory abortions based on sex or disability, which\u00a0lawmakers rejected<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0a vote of 71 to 21.\u00a0Irish lawmakers also considered an amendment that would require that efforts be made to preserve the life of a baby born alive in an abortion. That amendment was also rejected, by a vote of 59 to 39.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Infants born alive during abortion have haunted abortion profiteers since legalization<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s Health Minister Simon Harris claimed the amendment against discriminatory abortions was unnecessary, saying, \u201cThe legislation [legalizing abortion] does not provide for termination of pregnancy to be carried out on the grounds of sex, race or disability,\u201d adding that such protections \u201cstigmatise women.\u201d Harris has thus far also 1) demanded that all elective abortions be paid for with tax dollars<\/a>, 2) undermined conscience protections<\/a> for pro-life medical professionals, and 3) wants<\/a> to\u00a0ban peaceful pro-life protest<\/a> outside abortion facilities because it might “cause distress<\/a>” to women.<\/p>\n

TD Michael Collins pointed out the inadequacy of Harris\u2019s defense, stating, \u201c[Harris] would like all of us to believe that if it is not specifically legal to abort on the ground of disability, it will somehow not happen in Ireland. That view is very na\u00efve.\u201d As prenatal screenings become more readily available at earlier gestational ages, it is becoming increasingly possible to screen for disabilities at earlier stages of development. Without adequate information on alternatives, families are often pressured to opt for abortion for no other reason than a child\u2019s potential disability.<\/p>\n

In defense of this vote against requiring medical care to babies born alive during abortions, one TD claimed that the legislation was unnecessary because in the event of a born alive infant, \u201cmedical ethics would kick in to give every assistance to that baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Abortion clinic workers share how babies are born alive and killed<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But in other parts of the world — like the United States — where abortion is legal and caring for babies born alive during abortion is not mandated, this has certainly not been the case. For example, when working as a nurse, Jill Stanek witnessed<\/a> babies born alive in abortions and left to die, sometimes lingering for hours. And a Planned Parenthood spokesperson has stated that if a child was born alive during an abortion, the fate of that child would be left to the woman and her abortionist to decide:<\/p>\n