By Ann Marie Foley - 13 October, 2014
Julia Holcomb
Ireland is a beacon to the world for its care for mothers and babies in pregnancy and people should continue to work to restore Ireland’s pro-life ethos following last year’s abortion law.
Julia Holcomb, former girlfriend of Aerosmith lead singer, Steve Tyler made her comments at the Pro-Life Conference on Saturday when she spoke about her late-term abortion and how she came to regret it.
She has worked with a group called Silent No More, for women who have suffered after abortion and want to end the silence about abortion regret.
Referring to her personal story and the current debate on abortion in Ireland, Ms Holcomb said, “You do not want women and babies to experience the victimisation and abuse that abortion brings as has happened in the US.”
600 people attended the Pro Life Campaign’s National Conference 2014 which took place in the RDS, Dublin this weekend.
Caroline Simons, legal consultant to the Pro Life Campaign talked about the current push for abortion in Ireland where the baby has a life-limiting condition.
She stated that for more than two years there has been an almost exclusive focus in the media on abortion as the only option.
“How many women end up going for abortion in this situation having heard nothing whatsoever about the extraordinary support which perinatal hospice care offers to the mother and baby for whatever short length of time the baby may live? There is urgent need for more balance in this debate,” she said.
Joe McCarroll with Roger Kiska and Cora Sherlock at PLC National Conference — at RDS Concert Hall
Her colleague Cora Sherlock, Deputy Chairperson of the Pro Life Campaign, said that a majority of people in Ireland “consistently say” that they want to keep a pro-life model in Ireland.
“Put simply: we’re not into ending lives here. We are into saving them. Recent polls claiming widespread support for abortion fail to take into account the fact that the evidence shows abortion is not a treatment for suicidal feelings.”
“The Government ignored this when introducing abortion last year,” she said.
Roger Kiska, an international human rights lawyer told the crowd that despite the claims of pro-choice campaigners, there is no international right to abortion in law and he stated that one day abortion will be regarded as morally repulsive as slavery.
He said the people of Ireland were “misled” by the current Government into implementing the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act after the ECHR judgement in the ABC case.
He said no such action was required as a result of the judgement in the case taken by three women who had travelled abroad for abortions and argued that Ireland’s laws jeopardised their health and well-being.
He urged pro-life people to continue in their efforts.
Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick, a disability rights campaigner spoke about euthanasia worldwide.
He said that there is a step by step expansion of the categories of people who can be killed once euthanasia is introduced in a country.
He also said there is a softening of language used by those in favour of euthanasia in the effort to sway public opinion.
Last year more than 600 attended the Pro Life Campaign National Conference in the RDS.
At that time Terence Flanagan TD and Senator Fidelma Healy Eames received prolonged standing ovation from the crowd as a sign of appreciation for voting against the Government’s abortion law.
