Precious Life launches ‘Lobby for Life' Campaign with strong support from leading NI Politicians
As Northern Ireland comes under increasing pressure to legalise abortion, Precious Life’s Youth for Life NI annual summer roadshow took on a very distinct focus this year. With pro-abortion groups conspiring in a concerted and direct campaign to change our pro-life laws, our aim as a youth project of leading NI campaign group Precious Life was to remind our politicians that without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless.
Through lobbying politicians across the 6 counties of the North during our annual roadshow, the goal of Youth for Life NI on this year’s roadshow was to come together as a united group to persuade our leaders to support Precious Life’s ‘Lobby for Life’ campaign and wider pro-life policies. On Thursday 28th July we met with Northern Ireland’s First Minister and supporter of life Arlene Foster. This meeting stood out as an exceptionally positive one, and focused on improving and expanding perinatal hospice care here in Northern Ireland to improve the lives of mothers and babies suffering from life-limiting conditions.
Arlene Foster said she believed that there is “definitely a very clear need for increased and improved perinatal hospice care here in Northern Ireland currently.” Furthermore, Mrs Foster encouraged Youth for Life NI to keep up the “fantastic activism” throughout Northern Ireland at a crucial time. Mrs Foster highlighted the fact that Northern Ireland is definitely under pressure to amend its pro-life laws, however she firmly assured us that the DUP will do “everything in our power” to safeguard our current laws and protect the most vulnerable in our society.
It is so incredibly important to lobby for life at this present point in time because of the stark threat to unborn children here as Northern Ireland faces a great deal of political instability. During the course of our Youth for Life NI Roadshow, which took place from the 26th of July to the 2nd of August, our pro-life youth met with numerous influential politicians from our local areas to lobby for life. Our group had meetings with members of the SDLP, DUP and UUP, the three political parties in Northern Ireland who express a pro-life stance. Unborn children cannot speak for themselves so they need us to be their voice – it was vital that we made our voices heard unequivocally loud and clear to ensure that our politicians protect the right to life of all unborn children.
Youth for life NI co-ordinator Rachael McEvoy expressed her thanks to all the politicians we met with on behalf of the group. “This year, our tour of the North has been beyond encouraging. We have received so much support from not only our MLAs but also the people of the North. It has been an incredible boost and we look forward to launching our Lobby for Life campaign.”Precious Life and Youth for Life NI would encourage everyone to lobby their politicians; this can be done either in person, by sending letters or emails or via social media.
Precious Life and Youth for Life NI would encourage everyone to lobby their politicians; this can be done either in person, by sending letters or emails or via social media.Our Youth for Life NI roadshow has been a tremendous success and Precious Life will continue with the launch our new ‘Lobby for Life!’ campaign confident of the support of our pro-life parties and public here. We place the utmost importance in encouraging the people of Northern Ireland to get in touch with their politicians to ask questions about this crucial issue to ensure that every person from the moment of conception continues to be protected in Northern Ireland.