Why I Reject Repeal - To Give, We Must Take.

For a long time I swayed between the lines of both sides of the abortion debate. However, it was not until I attended an ultrasound scan of my son Cahir that I decided that I was pro-life. At that moment, I instantly recognised the humanity of the unborn child. It was undeniable. He was twelve weeks in the womb, you could see his head, arms and legs and it appeared as if his tiny hand was waving to the outside world.  (See image above)

At that point the unborn child could never again be rationally defined as blob of cells that did not qualify for legal protection.  Cahir is now five and he is as human as he was in his mother’s womb. There is no point in his existence that he was anything other than human.

I understand, that I am a man, I do not have a womb. However, I refuse to accept that my sex precludes me from advocating for the unborn, just as it does not preclude me from advocating for the right to choose.

I also appreciated that my fiancée’s circumstances at that time where much better than some of the women who are in this moment considering having an abortion. However, does a circumstance exist where the humanity of an unborn child should be excluded as a factor?

   

Therefore, the first question I asked myself is the amount of weight that should be given to the value of the unborn child’s life. Secondly, I asked myself if this value outweighs the mothers right to choose to end the pregnancy which ultimately stops the beating heart of another human being. Repeal factors out both of these important questions. 

When Cahir was two I started a Law degree at Ulster University. We were asked, at what point does the right to life begin? For me, it begins as soon as the life is recognised as human. Therefore, for me, the only qualification for the right to life is to be human.

The 8^th Amendment protects the right to life of both the mother and baby. When the babies’ life will cause the death of the mother the mothers rights prevail.

Repeal strips the right to life from the most innocent, vulnerable and voiceless section of humanity, the unborn. Stripping rights away is not progressive, it's regressive.

Repeal is discriminatory and anti-equality. The unborn are discriminated by being treated unequally by having their right to life removed. 

In the referendum, the Irish people will be asked if the mothers right to choose to end the pregnancy prevails over the babies right to life.

Two rights directly competing with each other and both sides of the debate are entrenched. There is no room whatsoever for a middle ground. 

However, we cannot escape the reality that to grant the mother the right to choose we as a nation must first take away the child’s right to life. To give, we must take.

For me, the right to life which is fundamental and inalienable always prevails over choice.  The right to life is not exclusive to the born, the planned, the healthy and the rich. 

To strip this right away would mean the right to life changes from a human right to a sectional right. For that reason, I support the 8^th Amendment.

Regardless of your position you must get out and vote. This is particularly important for young people as the effects of this referendum will first touch their generation and unborn generations to come. 

Cherish the Children Equally!

Ciaran Boyle, Derry