Irish Council of Civil Liberties confront State’s refusal to legalize abortion

Group launch complaint against Irish abortion laws

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Abortion pro-choice campaigners outside Dublin's High Court

Photo by Julien Behal/PA

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The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) has launched a complaint to the Council of Europe over Ireland’s refusal to legalize abortion.

They state that Ireland’s refusal to legalize the procedure is an obstruction to obtaining full “equality” for women.

Earlier this month the ICCL criticized the Irish Minister of State with Special Responsibility for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton. They criticized the “political intransigence” of the Irish government in refusing to overturn the country’s constitutional protections for the unborn.

On 5th October the ICCL released a press release revealing the nature of their complaint. They accused Sean Brady, the Primate of All-Ireland, of launching a “political campaign on the issue by the Church.” They complained that Brady told the Dáil [Parliament] Deputies and Ministers that bishops and priests are ready to lobby the government should there be any attempt to legalize abortion.

ICCL Director Mark Kelly said, “We wish the Committee of Ministers to be fully aware of the background of religious conservatism and political intransigence into which the report of the expert group on the implementation of this important judgment will be released.”

The submission is part of a coordinated project, among several groups, to try and force the Irish government to interpret the Human Court of Human Rights ruling as a demand for abortion legislation, claims Life Site News.

Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute, a Pro-Choice group said it indicates that abortion campaigners are now “desperately appealing to every outside agency possible because they had failed to win the support of the Irish people, and feared that the political parties were becoming increasingly cautious of approaching the abortion issue.”

In the past the ICCL has also said that the Irish public and government are resistant to abortion legalization. Pro-Life groups say this is an indication of ICCL’s contempt for the democratic process.

The ICCL was founded in 1976 by former Irish President Mary Robinson, among others. Their website boasts of having influenced the Irish government to legalize divorce, “secure more effective protection of children’s rights,” decriminalize homosexual activity and introduce “enhanced equality legislation”.

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