Amnesty International launches campaign against Ireland’s unborn
June 9, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- Irish pro-life groups have sharply criticized Amnesty International for what they describe as an "obsession" with abolishing Ireland’s abortion laws, and pointed out that Amnesty’s decision to become abortion campaigners has destroyed the founding mission of the organization.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said that most of Amnesty’s high profile campaigns and public statements now seem to be part of a universal push for abortion, and that this had led to members of the public withdrawing their support from the organization.
On Tuesday, Amnesty Ireland launched a report attacking Ireland’s abortion laws and demanding that restrictions on abortion be removed, despite polls showing opposition to that model of abortion provision in the country.
Ms Uí Bhriain said that Amnesty’s position had no basis in fact or in international law. “There is no treaty or convention acknowledging a supposed ‘right’ to abortion, yet the right to life of every person is widely recognized in international law,” she said.
She also accused Amnesty of covering up the reality of abortion, in the same way that brutal regimes covered up the human rights abuses that were previously Amnesty’s focus.
“Amnesty writes glib reports calling for abortion to be made legal, but they ignore the reality of what abortion does to an unborn child,” she said.
“Abortion brutally takes the life of a child. So we have the shocking reality of Amnesty becoming an organization that supports violence against children who are at their most vulnerable stage of existence. Today people are challenging Amnesty to say which abortion method it wants legalized: dismemberment or suction abortion which tears the baby apart? How can they justify this brutality and still claim to be a human rights organization?”
“If Amnesty wants to improve the situation for pregnant women, why don’t they seek better maternal healthcare for women everywhere instead of spending millions on campaigning for abortion, which is a medieval solution to a crisis pregnancy,” Uí Bhriain said.
Pointing out that “Amnesty was founded to highlight human rights abuses, especially in regard to political prisoners and those suffering under unjust regimes," Uí Bhriain observed that, "now it seems to spend most of its time attacking the rights of the most vulnerable person of all – the unborn child.”
“I’ve lost count of the number of people who have contacted us to tell us they will never support Amnesty again because of their stance on abortion,” she said.
The Life Institute said that it would be joining the Irish pro-life group Youth Defence and others in highlighting Amnesty’s position as abortion campaigners using social media graphics to bring attention to their message.
“Amnesty’s position on abortion is a travesty,” said Clare Molloy of Youth Defence. “Amnesty International say that they are going to target Ireland to break our protection of unborn babies, and Amnesty are spending millions on campaigns to legalize killing babies while so many human rights abuses go unchallenged in the world.”
Contact:
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
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London WC1X 0DW, UK
Phone: +44-20-74135500
Fax: +44-20-79561157
Twitter account: @Amnestyonline
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