A weird tactic to promote abortion backfires in Ireland

‘Not in my name,’ say former Tuam babies.

Carolyn Moynihan | Dec 1 2017 | comment

The push to make Ireland a Thoroughly Modern Millie by legalising abortion has seen some supporters exploiting the tragic story of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home, according to The Irish Catholic newspaper. But former residents and others involved in uncovering the facts about Tuam are not having it.

“They now want to offer abortion as a solution to ‘unwanted children’ – sure isn’t that me,” a man identified as Patrick told the paper.
“If abortion was legal back in the day, I probably wouldn’t be here. The people that were born in Tuam – sure we’d be the first ones aborted.”

His comment highlights the idiocy of the “pro-choice” move.

As we have noted in previous coverage on MercatorNet, the Tuam home for unmarried mothers (closed in 1961) has come to represent a dark and discriminatory past when Catholic Ireland cared more about the appearance of respectability than the rights of poor young women and the wellbeing their children.

Indeed, when the poor little mites died of malnutrition and disease their bodies were, according to a popular myth, “thrown into septic tanks” on the site. This, says an abortion advocate quoted in Irish Catholic, shows the “horrific track record” of the Church in caring for the vulnerable in Ireland.

However, if the Church would shut up about the value of human life in the womb and allow the Irish to kill little foetuses and throw them in hospital waste bins to be incinerated, it would somehow redeem itself and make Ireland a Better Place. Or at least appear Respectable in the eyes of the global elite.

Well, the Tuam “survivors” may have had a hard time in childhood but it seems to have left their reason intact:

A fellow onetime resident of the home, Walter Francis, joined Patrick in saying “We wish to see the Eighth Amendment retained in the Constitution. If abortion was legal back in the day, we mightn’t be here today.”

And here’s the grand-daughter of a woman inmate who happened to have no complaints about the care she received at the Tuam home:

“It still baffles me how the media can run the pro-abortion narrative alongside the ‘dumped Tuam babies’ narrative without seeing any contradiction,” she said, adding that the Eighth Amendment guarantees protection to the most vulnerable.

Also, Mary Moriarty, who in October 1975 entered the crypt containing infants remains on the home’s former grounds and who helps people raised in the home trace their relatives:

“I cannot understand why this story is being used as a platform by some from which to campaign for the repealing of the Eighth Amendment”.
Declaring herself to be “totally against abortion”, Mrs Moriarty urged adoption as an alternative, saying “there are people crying out for children”.

So, bad move, pro-choicers. Victims are victims, no matter how small they are.

Note: The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland recognized the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn child. This amendment created a constitutional recognition of an unborn child's life and so makes it impossible for any government to introduce legislation allowing for terminations in the womb except in exceptional circumstances. It was effected by the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1983, which was approved by referendum on 7 September 1983 and signed into law on the 7 October of the same year.

December 1, 2017

When I was at primary school many moons ago there was an institution called The Fun Doctor. A man with a battered suitcase full of tricks would come to the school once, maybe twice a year, and entertain us with jokes and magical stuff. On the whole, I think we were quite amused as there were no smartphones or television then to turn us into bored little sophisticates.

The reason for mentioning this is that even back in the Dark Ages people recognised that laughter is good for your health – hence, Fun Doctor. Today, there’s a whole branch of psychology dedicated to happiness, and no end of life coaches telling us how to be happy for the good of our health.

This very day, while I was staring indifferently at my laptop screen, someone sent me a heads-up about an article on how much just smiling can do for our psyches and bodies as well. But the main point is this: you don’t have to wait to feel happy to get the benefit of a smile; you can be tense and worried and smile anyway -- and presto! Your brain fires up, the dopamine and serotonin start flowing, your stress goes down and your heart rate lowers, and your mood lifts. And not only you, those whom you smile at feel better too.

Our articles today were not exactly designed with smiles in mind, but they are not lacking in wit and encouragement, starting with Zac Alstin’s reflections on providence and freedom. So smile – and take the plunge!