Precious Life Condemn Calls for "Eugenic Abortions" For Special Needs Babies
Northern Ireland’s leading pro-life group Precious Life has condemned an Amnesty International campaign that is calling for a change in the law in Northern Ireland to allow the killing of special-needs babies who may die before or shortly after birth.
Amnesty International is using the tragic case of another vulnerable parent to push their abortion agenda!
Bernadette Smyth the director of Precious Life said it was hypocritical of a so called human rights organisation to campaign for the destruction of vulnerable unborn children, and very disingenuous of them to use tragic cases of vulnerable parents to promote their pro-abortion agenda, which is to legalise abortion on demand in Ireland. She said,
"We all feel enormous sympathy for parents in these traumatic and distressing situations faced with a fatal diagnosis for their baby. But parents in these difficult situations deserve much more than our sympathy – they need a professional support system in place, which will provide them with help, support and resources".
Precious Life has written to the Health Minister for Northern Ireland urging him to establish perinatal hospice services immediately.
Perinatal hospice care supports parents of children expected to die soon after birth. It offers nurses, chaplains, neonatologists, social workers, bereavement counsellors and even a photographer to capture brief moments. According to leading experts in the field, this essential care is not difficult to establish or maintain. Dr Byron Calhoun of West Virginia University, who spoke at a conference in Stormont last year, explained that "all the typical hospital needs is a few extra rooms for these families".
"Time with the baby is extremely important to these moms,” he said. “Families want a live birth, a baptism, a chance to hold the baby; to give as much love a child can have in their brief life.” he said.
Dr Calhoun pointed out that, “…the only alternative parents are given is termination of pregnancy or they’re told they are on their own.” This should simply not be acceptable for a society which cares for its most vulnerable citizens.
[See video : http://youtu.be/RA1UJEHafLk]
For example, Dawn, whose baby girl Amanda, was born with anencephaly and lived for three days, says,
“She was the most amazing little person I could ever put my eyes on. I kissed her and cried …. but most of all I just loved her and held her. I had the 3 greatest days of my life with this little girl and I could not imagine life without knowing her."
The ability of these special children to spend precious time with their parents is deliberately ignored by Amnesty and others.
Abortion is never the answer for parents and for baby in these very upsetting circumstances. If a baby is diagnosed with a fatal disability then we should allow nature to take its course - the baby should not be deliberately killed by abortion. Parents are already distraught and in shock, without having to be involved in the decision to end the life of their child. A Dutch study in 2005 suggested that women who aborted for reasons of foetal abnormality showed severe post-traumatic stress up to seven years later.
Precious Life and Stanton healthcare are resolved to work instead towards a solution that loves and protects both mother and baby.