Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
With Abortion Vote, Ireland Commited Suicide with a Smile on Its Face
Ireland’s referendum on abortion on demand ended in the repeal of the eight amendment. As a result, Ireland will now have abortion on demand for 12 weeks, allow abortions from 3-6 months if mental health issues allow (vague) and allow terminations for any fatal fetal anomalies past that. In short, Ireland became the first country in human history to embrace abortion on demand by referendum, i.e., by people voting for it.
My heart is filled with sorrow. All day I have been numb. All day I have felt shock at the huge landslide victory, 67-33. Two-thirds of the population thought it acceptable for any reason under the mantra according to the exit polls of choice. That is it was a woman’s right to terminate her baby if she feels she wants to. That even took preference over hard cases. The hard cases I can understand. But to say a woman has right to kill her unborn is unnatural, that many Irish now think that’s okay is terrifying.
Sadly, that wasn’t the worst thing about the vote. The above picture was taken in Dublin Castle where the referendum result was read out. Although our Prime Minister had asked them to be respectful, that didn’t happen. He himself, of course, later showed up for a photo op along with his health minister smiling at the crowd as they sold their souls to the camera. I would hate to be his advocate on the day he dies.
Although he wasn’t the worst. No the crowds of young people in their 20s and 30s — my age — were. They cheered as the result became known. They shouted. They sang. Yes, they sang two old Irish songs with no irony. One was “Alive, Alive, Oh” from “Molly Malone” and the other was “The Fields of Athenry,” which is a song about emigrants and awful death in Ireland. They did all this with a smile on their face.
I have never felt so ashamed to be Irish in all my life. They are clueless. They are ignorant and, worse, proud. They will think now that abortion is a moral right from now until end times. Alas, they are deluding themselves.
Ireland will now see a rise in its abortion rate naturally, will see a rise in its female suicide rate, will see the beginning of the end for disabled children who are so common in Ireland. It will see the rise of women being pressured into killing their children on behalf of deadbeat fathers. It will lead to malpractice cases. It will lead to a collapse in our birth rate. It will shorten families and ensure the agonising deaths of many children whose only sin was the wrong mother. It will inevitably lead to huge social consequences that have happened everywhere else. It will murder Ireland’s soul.
This was done today to Ireland in part for many reasons, which I will write about soon. But it was done now by liberal, very anti-religious or lapsed Catholics — with a smile.
Published in General
Hugs, Nanda :)
Thanks, brother! Can never have too many of those; and back atcha! :-)
Fr. Z links to a cartoon published in the The Sunday Independent in Ireland. Anti-Catholicism seems to be alive and well in Ireland for those attached to the anti-life movement. Woe to those who allow this evil.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/ireland-abortion-referendum-new-legal-regime-proposal/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202018-05-29&utm_term=NR5PM%20Actives
I don’t believe that all women who get abortions do so because of their own conscience. There are no doubt cases where abortion is forced by those directly around the woman, perhaps not the state, but sanctioned by the state.
What has changed is that legality makes it harder for women who desire to keep a baby to do so if those around her do not want her to see the pregnancy through.
An unwanted or unplanned pregnancy is not a new experience, and there is a lot of work to do.
The stress of an unwanted pregnancy can create attachment issues even if the kid is adopted. That is just reality.
My first pregnancy was unwanted, and I was unmarried. Then I got married to the father (before the birth, eloped), and still am. It wasn’t like abortion didn’t cross my mind. And I was not involved in a church and my family was pretty poor. Had I gone to PP, I may have ruined the best part of my life; my kids and husband.
Planned pregnancies can be as stressful as unplanned. I had both. The second baby was a lot more stressful than the first. The development of migranes during the second was foretelling. The first was a really good baby, and the second one was never happy the first 2 years of her life. I had a second because of the first. Babies are life changing events. That is reality also.
Far too many act like this is more uncomplicated than it is, that’s all.
Life is complicated, abortion is uncomplicated. It is either right or wrong.
I guess I take the Kevin Williamson approach. There are very few cases where the mother’s life depends on taking the baby. But that is one of the biggest arguments for it. Even pregancies that are the result of rape do not mean automatic abortion is the solution. The gal that had her captive, Castro’s baby, in Ohio, saw her baby as a blessing.
I am pro life. Not kinda sorta pro life. If I get a voice in the matter, I will vote accordingly.
A certain percentage of unwanted pregnancies are going to end up with psychological trauma in the kid and everyone needs to act accordingly.
The third trimester to three years is critical in this sense.
I agree entirely with your last statement, but all pregnancies have the potential to end up with children experiencing psychological trauma. Every family is dysfunctional in its own way.
We are not really a child friendly culture, even outside of abortion. Children are seen as possessions to a lot of people, like a new car. Children are pretty resilient, or they used to be.
I do understand how scary it is to be young and pregnant. I was there. I had support from family. I know a lot of young women don’t and abortion is their last resort, a bankruptcy of sorts. And that is tragic to me. Some of them never get pregnant again, and regret it.
Forcing women to give birth at gunpoint isn’t a net aggregate positive, necessarily, so everyone be advised. Same with the politics. I don’t think anything I’ve said about this is even arguable.
Just make the moral case.
That graphic is simply repugnant and offensive, not to my tastes, (I am offended) but it suggests what mindless and easily manipulated sheep the Irish are.
Oh, yeah, someone else said that too, about mankind.
Welcome to the City of Man, a.k.a., hell.
I wonder about the source of this information, and the demographic breakdown. The latest CDC report with data for 2014 (here) reports an abortion rate in the US of 12.1 per 1000 women.
There is a significant data problem, because 3 states, including California, do not report abortion information to the CDC.
According to the CDC, the abortion rate varies significantly by racial and ethnic group. Per 1000 women, the abortion rate in 2014 was 7.0 for non-Hispanic whites, 12.3 for Hispanics, and 26.7 for non-Hispanic blacks.
These racial differences may account for some or all of the reported differences in abortion rates between North America and other regions.
When has a woman had to give birth at gunpoint? I can think of one possible case; the captive of Castro in Ohio. And she called the baby a blessing. People always bring up the extremes to justify the ordinary. I realize that rapes and incest are horrible. I realize that unwanted pregnancies sometimes happen. If you are having sex, you know how that happens.
A declining population is a net negative. And that is happening in the West.
If you do not give the fetus human status, it is not a matter of morality. But if a pregnant woman is murdered, it is not uncommon for the charge to be a double homicide. The law is capable of recognizing the unborn as humans with rights.
Is it moral for a parent to do whatever they want with a child?
I’m just describing the political, economic, and governmental structures in place right now that will respond reflexively and predictably when you threaten to outlaw it. If you want the Democrat party to have less power (which I think is a huge issue) the course is clear. Government force is clearly the worse option compared to changing hearts and minds. JMO.
I don’t know if this is still true, but about 15 years ago I heard a long program on Wisconsin public radio about the political dynamics of abortion. I’ll never forget that one guy that was interviewed said that the average amount of time a politician spent on abortion every year was one hour. He also said that if they ever pushed it back to the states, dozens of politicians positions would change overnight. I’m not saying any of that is true now, though.