8th Amendment – Report from the Republic of Ireland

The following is a report from Len, a church worker closely involved with the 8th Amendment issues and who regularly speaks with people. So this isn’t a second-hand report but from someone directly involved in the 8th Amendment ‘NO’ campaign and with life issues. There’s also a video at the bottom of the page he sent me. This is of interviews with local Pastors and local church members – one in particular that speaks specifically of her experience of a ‘Hard Case’.

Currently, the Irish Constitution contains an article numbered 40 in the third subsection of section 3. It states:

‘’The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”

The Irish people voted in a majority to amend our constitution for the eighth time in 1983 to include that article. And because of its presence, elective termination of the unborn has been illegal on our shores for 35 years.

But on Friday, May 25th of 2018, the Irish people are going to the poles once more, but this time we are being asked whether the 8th Amendment should be removed. Yes, or No. If yes, Article 40.3.3 of the constitution will read,

“Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy”.

If you are following, the removal of the 8th amendment will mean Abortion will no longer be illegal, but allowed in the state. The Government has draft legislation ready to go, which includes:

-The provision of Terminations up to 12 weeks “without specific indication” ie. without any reason given.
-Provision of Termination up until “viability” (currently around 24 weeks) based on health grounds
Gestational limits will not apply in cases of a foetal condition or on grounds of risk to health.

Anyone with any knowledge of recent Irish history will understand this proposed new direction as being a serious liberalisation of Ireland’s Abortion laws. And it seems, from my perspective, exactly one week away from polling day, that the Yes side is winning. When you listen to anyone who is pro-repeal of the 8th, they will be keen to highlight the rights of the woman.
-How she is being forced to carry her pregnancy.
-How we already have abortion in Ireland in that 12 women and girls every day will either travel to the UK for a termination, or obtain illegal abortion pills online – therefore we must show compassion to our own.

That is the arguments they have when they spin the truth. And they come from the top down. From our Prime Minister/ Taoiseach (Tee-shock), our very own minister for Health, and our minister for Children. Yes, our minister for Children.

But they are also armed with false truths.

The public are being deluded in thinking that the 8th Amendment is responsible for taking the lives of some women in the past 35 years. That the doctors hands are tied when it comes to treating the most ill women who are also pregnant, because it might harm the baby.

I recently met a woman on the doors whose “friend” was denied cancer treatment because she was pregnant.
This type of scenario is just not created by the 8th amendment, Irish doctors are free to do all they can to save the mother, and if the foetus passes away as a result, that is not illegal, as they weren’t electing to target the life of the baby.
But this is what people are believing, and the Yes side are happy in peddling that lie.
Unfortunately too, radio presenters, therefore the populous, are fixated on the “hard cases”.
“What about the 11 year old girl who was violated by a family relation, should she be forced to carry the DNA of her rapist?” Pat Kenny, a Veteran Irish broadcaster of 41 years asked Dr. Jean Engela of the ICBR (Irish Centre of Bioethical Reform) this week.
All Dr. Jean had to do was highlight the humanity of the unborn child, that no matter who anyone’s father or mother was, they had a right to exist in and of themselves. That life doesn’t have a right to exist merely because of the 8th amendment, all the 8th amendment does is recognise the pre-existing right to life anyone has – because they are human! There are difficult and tragic cases that we must be ready to show much support and compassion to, but Ireland is not being asked to legislate for the tough cases.

Ireland is being asked whether we want to introduce Abortion for any reason up to 12 weeks, and for the vague and unspecified “health grounds” up to 6 months.

This is what I try to leave people thinking when I encounter them on the doors.

There are encouragements that I draw from:

  • The Yes side has lost support in the most recent polls (though still hold a majority). We hope that will continue up until polling.
  • If “Brexit” and “Trump” have taught us all anything, it ain’t over until it’s over!
  • Right now, People’s opinion of the health service has dropped due to a Cervical Smear Test scandal, in which a number of women were given misdiagnoses, leading to a number of preventable deaths. Do the Irish people trust the same politicians to bring in and oversee Abortion “Health Care”? Hopefully not.
  • Urban/Rural Divide. I live in the City, which is traditionally more liberal than the more rural places in the country, so perhaps my perception is skewed.
  • Jesus is still on the throne!

So please pray that the people will vote “No” on May 25th.

-Pray that the truth of what takes place in Abortion not be avoided in the debates on the radio and TV over the next few weeks. The statistics for Ireland’s radio listening habit’s floor me every time I read them, it has been shown that “82% of ALL adults in the Republic (that’s more than 3.1 million ) listen to on average 4 hours of radio, every day”. This is how people’s minds are being made up, so pray that the bias the media have will be evident, and that strong pro-life arguments will prevail.
-Pray that the Christians will be bold to speak up for the unborn to their friends, family and colleagues.
-Pray that regardless of the outcome, Christians will be reminded that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the LORD Jesus Christ”.

In Christ,
Len


Freedom of Speech and the current confusion and  obscurity regarding an adequate definition of Extremism

This morning I read this post by Stephen Kneale at The Arbour. Later, I read Isaiah 54:17. What follows below are commentaries from Albert Barnes & John Gill on this verse in Isaiah. They are quite lengthy, but given the apparent progress the enemies of The Gospel of The Lord Christ are making it seems somewhat providential to post them here. And let’s be clear, the defense of Traditional Marriage isn’t about battering Homosexuals or anyone else. What it is really about is the authority of the Bible and among other things what it means to be a Christian. What is a Christian is an ongoing question that will not and is not going to go away. Why? Because sinful man is forever trying to find a way of Salvation that keeps man on the throne. The cry of sinful man, no matter how polite it can seem, is ‘We will not have this man (The Lord Jesus) rule over us. (See Luke 19:14) The Freedom to express any other view or belief other than the one you are told to express, particularly on SSM or Abortion, is starting to look like and feel like extremism. If it looks like a duck….

Here’s the text of Isaiah 54:17. ‘no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD’ (ESV). The comments of Barnes & Gill follow.

No weapon that is formed – No instrument of war, no sword, or spear; no instrument of persecution or torture that is made by the smith, Isa 54:16.

Shall prosper – On the meaning of this word, see the notes at Isa 52:13. The sense here is, that it shall not have final and ultimate prosperity. It might be permitted for a time to appear to prosper – as persecutors and oppressors have done; but there would not be final and complete success.

And every tongue – No one shall be able to injure you by words and accusations. If a controversy shall arise; if others reproach you and accuse you of imposture and deceit, you will be able ultimately to convince them of error, and, by manifestation of the truth, to condemn them. The language here is derived probably from courts of justice (see the notes at Isa 41:1); and the idea is, that truth and victory, in every strife of words, would be on the side of the church. To those who have watched the progress of discussions thus far on the subject of the true religion, it is needless to say that this has been triumphantly fulfilled. Argument, sophism, ridicule, have all been tried to overthrow the truth of the Christian religion. Appeals have been made to astronomy, geology, antiquities, history, and indeed to almost every department of science, and with the same want of success. Poetry has lent the charm of its numbers; the grave historian has interwoven with the thread of his narrative covert attacks and sly insinuations against the Bible; the earth has been explored to prove that’ He who made the world and revealed its age to Moses was mistaken in its age;’ and the records of Oriental nations, tracing their history up cycles of ages beyond the Scripture account of the creation of the world, have been appealed to, but thus far in all these contests ultimate victory has declared in favor of the Bible. And no matter from what quarter the attack has come, and no matter how much learning and talent have been evinced by the adversaries of the Bible, God has raised up some Watson, or Lardner, or Chalmers, or Buckland, or Cuvier, or Wiseman, to meet these charges, and to turn the scales in favor of the cause of truth. They who are desirous of examining the effects of the controversy of Christianity with science, and the results, can find them detailed with great learning and talent in Dr. Wiseman’s Lectures on the connection between Science and Revealed Religion, Andover, 1837.

This is the heritage – The inheritance which awaits those who serve God is truth and victory. It is not gold and the triumph of battle. It is not the laurel won in fields of blood. But it is, the protection of God in all times of trouble; his friendship in all periods of adversity; complete victory in all contests with error and false systems of religion; and preservation when foes rise up in any form and endeavor to destroy the church, and to blot out its existence and its name.

And their righteousness is of me – Or rather, ‘this is the righteousness, or the justification which they obtain of me; this is that which I impart to them as their justification.’ The idea is not that their righteousness is of him, but that this justification or vindication from him is a part of their inheritance and their portion. (Albert Barnes December 1, 1798 – December 24, 1870)

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper,…. All weapons of war, as the Targum, which are made with a design to hurt and destroy the people of God, shall be rendered useless; not one of them shall prosper to the advantage of their enemies, or so as to answer their design; nor to the hurt and prejudice, ruin and destruction, of the saints:

and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment; that shall raise any calumny upon thee, or bring any charge against thee, or enter into a lawsuit with thee, litigate a point with thee in any court of judicature, or claim, in right and law, a power, authority, and dominion over thee, as the pope of Rome does over the consciences of men:

thou shalt condemn; disprove and roll off the calumny, refute the charge and accusation, put to silence the clamours and pretences of wicked men, carry the cause against them, and shake off the yoke of bondage they would bring them under; and, instead of being condemned by them, condemn them. By “weapon” may be meant all the attempts made by force to ruin the interest and church of Christ in the world, such as the bloody persecutions of the Roman emperors, who, though they made sad havoc of the professors of Christianity, and designed hereby to have rooted it out of the world, and thought they should have accomplished it, yet could not do it; so far from it, that the Christians yet more and more increased, insomuch that it became a common saying, that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church; also the wars of the Papists with the Albigenses and Waldenses, and all the cruel methods they have taken by fire and faggot, and the bloody inquisition, to hinder the growth of what they call heresy; yet all have been in vain, a reformation has taken place, and many nations have embraced the truth, and shook off the yoke of Popery; together with all their efforts since to crush the Protestant interest; and though the kings of the earth will be stirred up, and gather together to the battle of the Lord God Almighty, they will not succeed, but be overcome and slain, and the beast and false prophet at the head of them will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire: and by the “tongue” may be designed the edicts of the Pagan emperors, forbidding the exercise of the Christian religion, and threatening the preachers and professors of it with imprisonment, confiscation of goods, and death itself; and the anathemas, bulls, and interdicts of the popes of Rome, as well as the reproaches, scandals, and calumnies uttered by the emissaries of that church against all that depart from it; together with the errors and heresies of false teachers of all sorts in all ages of the world, which, though levelled against the faith and doctrine of the church of Christ, have not been able to subvert it, nor ever will:

this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord; this, with all that is said in this chapter, is the part, portion, and privilege, that such shall enjoy who serve the Lord Christ, and not antichrist; they shall be treated rather as sons than as servants, and have an inheritance assigned them; not only protection from all enemies, and absolution from all charges, but they shall receive the reward of the inheritance in heaven, that which is incorruptible and undefiled, and reserved there, since they serve the Lord Christ:

and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord; the vindication of their righteousness, of their cause, and of their character; or the reward of their righteous works in a way of grace; even all that righteousness and true holiness that is in them, and that righteousness which is imputed to them, and by which they are justified, are from the Lord; by which they are secured from all the charges of law and justice, and, from all the accusations of men and devils, and which will answer for them in a time to come, and acquit them at the bar of God before men and angels; see Rom 8:33. (John Gill 23 November 1697 – 14 October 1771)

Bats are worth more than Babies

When demolishing an existing building to make way for a shiny new one, local councils will refer to a Bat Report. There are very strict guidelines when it comes to Bats.

There’s a very helpful article on the RSPB website titled ‘Bats and the law‘. I looked this up partly out of curiosity and partly because I needed to know as part of my job. On reading through the article if was difficult to contain my laughter at the ridiculousness of the regulations. For your education and amusement I will quote from part of the article below – before drawing out my conclusion.

Just in case you think I’m kidding here is the relevant legal detail:

“The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) protects bats and their roosts in England, Scotland and Wales. Some parts have been amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW) which applies only in England and Wales.

The Conservation (Natural Habitats,&c.) Regulations 1994, better known as the Habitats Regulations, implements the Council Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora – better known as the Habitats Directive. All bats are listed as ‘European protected species of animals’.

Bats may also be protected by site safeguard measures, for example if their roost site or feeding grounds are notified as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC)or a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).”

Bat protection – snippets

It is an offence for any person to:

  • intentionally kill, injure or take a bat. Under the Habitats Regulations it is an offence to deliberately capture or kill a bat.
  • intentionally or recklessly* damage, destroy or obstruct access to any place that a bat uses for shelter or protection …
  • intentionally or recklessly* disturb a bat while it is occupying a structure or place that it uses for shelter or protection …

It is not illegal:

  • to take a disabled bat, for the sole purpose of tending it and releasing it when no longer disabled, as long as that person can show that it was not disabled unlawfully by them.
  • to kill a bat, as long as that person can show that the bat was so seriously disabled, other than by their own unlawful act, that there was no reasonable chance of it recovering.

It is laughable for a while, until one realises this is serious. Forgive me for thinking that Bats are obviously worth far more than babies. A Bat is safer than a baby in the Womb. It should be disturbing how our society mainly thinks of babies with any serious defect that they are so ‘seriously disabled, other than by their own unlawful act, that there was no reasonable chance of it recovering.’ One of my own grandchildren under this rubric would be in the trash.

Pictures & videos: unborn babies
The images show that a 24 week old baby is a fully developed human being, yet abortion is still legal up to this point in England.

A baby spends its first nine moths in the womb – the ‘habitat’ if you will. Is it safe there? No it isn’t! the reality is a Bat is safer and better protected than a Baby.

You can invade its habitat, you can chop it into tiny pieces, liquefy it and then extract it by means of suction. You can’t do that with a bat, but you can do it to a baby in the womb. Isn’t there something wrong?

In our crazy God rejecting world Bats are worth more, maybe worth far more than a baby, than human life.

Pro-lifers: the student censor’s favourite target | Abortion | Down with campus censorship! | Free speech | spiked

Pro-lifers: the student censor’s favourite target | Abortion | Down with campus censorship! | Free speech | spiked.

Good article as an example of (almost) how the ‘tolerant’ would like ‘Free Speech’ to be policed.

The idea of ‘Free Speech’ is very challenging as this quote from the article demonstrates:

‘if you take it seriously, you have to defend the free speech of precisely the people who drive you up the wall.’

Abortion Debate Audio

The Abortion Images Debate that took place in early October is available to download. You can download it from here.

I have listened to the debate and it is worth an hour and half of your time. I listened to it in the car travelling to work. Your jaw will drop at some of the statements from Ann Furedi (and some of the questions from the floor) as she seeks to defend the indefensible.

The Abortion Debate – Tonight

Arrived in my inbox. Don’t know if it will be recorded or available as a download.

Description of an Abortion – Warning, very detailed

There is no other way to describe the testimony below as Horrific. We rightly condemn acts of terror, homicide bombing and the like. But bear in mind the account below is State Funded. Both here in the UK and in the US The State is funding its own Genocide. There’s no other way to describe it. Also, consider this, rational sane ‘nice’ people actually argue FOR the procedure below. And, they will argue it forcefully, passionately and argue for the freedom of the women (mother) for this to happen. Where is the right of the child? Can any civilised society support this – well yes they do. And you help pay for it. What stopped Dr. Anthony Levatino? Sadly, his daughter died. Then he woke up to the horror of his ‘work’.

I came across it on World magazine: a Christian news site. They had a link to full text at Life News. The following description formed part of the congressional committee testimony

‘of Dr. Anthony Levatino, a New Mexico pro-life physician who once was an abortionist with 1,200 killings to his discredit. Then his daughter died in an auto accident, and he changed his views and stopped doing abortions. Now he tells the truth with specific detail:The following though is copied & pasted from I performed first trimester suction D&C abortions in my office up to 10 weeks from last menstrual period and later procedures in an outpatient hospital setting. From 1981 through February 1985, I performed approximately 1200 abortions. Over 100 of them were second trimester Suction D&E procedures up to 24 weeks gestation.’

[This is pretty sickening stuff to read, so be warned!]

Imagine if you can that you are a pro-choice obstetrician/gynecologist like I once was. Your patient today is 24 weeks pregnant. At twenty-four weeks from last menstrual period, her uterus is two finger-breadths above the umbilicus.

If you could see her baby, which is quite easy on an ultrasound, she would be as long as your hand plus a half from the top of her head to the bottom of her rump not counting the legs. Your patient has been feeling her baby kick for the last 2 months or more but now she is asleep on an operating room table and you are there to help her with her problem pregnancy.

The first task is remove the laminaria that had earlier been placed in the cervix to dilate it sufficiently to allow the procedure you are about to perform. With that accomplished, direct your attention to the surgical instruments arranged on a small table to your right. The first instrument you reach for is a 14-French suction catheter. It is clear plastic and about nine inches long. It has a bore through the center approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter.Picture yourself introducing this catheter through the cervix and instructing the circulating nurse to turn on the suction machine which is connected through clear plastic tubing to the catheter. What you will see is a pale yellow fluid that looks a lot like urine coming through the catheter into a glass bottle on the suction machine. This is the amniotic fluid that surrounded the baby to protect her.

With suction complete, look for your Sopher clamp. This instrument is about thirteen inches long and made of stainless steel. At the end are located jaws about 2 ½ inches long and about ¾ of an inch wide with rows of sharp ridges or teeth. This instrument is for grasping and crushing tissue. When it gets hold of something, it does not let go. A second trimester D&E abortion is a blind procedure. The baby can be in any orientation or position inside the uterus. Picture yourself reaching in with the Sopher clamp and grasping anything you can.

At twenty-four weeks gestation, the uterus is thin and soft so be careful not to perforate or puncture the walls. Once you have grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard–really hard. You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg about six inches long. Reach in again and grasp whatever you can. Set the jaw and pull really hard once again and out pops an arm about the same length. Reach in again and again with that clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart and lungs.

The toughest part of a D&E abortion is extracting the baby’s head. The head of a baby that age is about the size of a large plum and is now free floating inside the uterine cavity. You can be pretty sure you have hold of it if the Sopher clamp is spread about as far as your fingers will allow. You will know you have it right when you crush d own on the clamp and see white gelatinous material coming through the cervix. That was the baby’s brains. You can then extract the skull pieces. Many times a little face will come out and stare back at you.

Congratulations! You have just successfully performed a second trimester Suction D&E abortion. You just affirmed her right to choose.

Protected / Not Protected – Inversion of Western Morals

The deceased chickens
The chickens – now deceased

When we moved in a couple of months ago the previous owner asked if they could leave the chickens because they could take them. My wife had wanted chickens for a long time but we’d never had the space. So we agreed. It didn’t take long to name them – Colin the cockerel and Sybil & Bertha. Naively we let them wander around the property and just put them away for the night. In the morning there was usually an egg. They were great fun to watch and it was anybody’s guess as to where they would be. Real free range!

They lasted for about two months. Fist Sybil. Next day it was Colin. Really upsetting – it’s amazing how quickly we got quite attached to them. No guesses – it was a fox. There was no time to put fencing up so Bertha was taken to a friends – not as good as our place for her but alive. Hopefully we can have her back sometime. Our neighbour was surprised they lasted as long as they did.

File:Fox study 6.jpg
PROTECTED!

My wife saw the fox a couple of times. Quite big but scrawny. I shot a rat the other day with my air rifle. I’m thinking whether I need a more substantial weapon in order to deal with the fox. Maybe an Uzi 9mm. If it comes on our property or anywhere near that fox will be for it. My wife started looking into suitable runs or pens for chickens that would give protection against a fox. The fox is quite a predator, determined and wily. They bite though a lot of fencing as well. During this research we found out that fox’s are a protected creature. I wished I didn’t know that so I could shoot it in all ignorance. But now I do. So it can have our chickens without any reprisals.

This got me thinking. The fox is protested. But an unborn child is not protected. How many thousands of babies are aborted – murdered. And yet, if I were to kill a fox on my property to defend our chickens I could face a fine or imprisonment. Somethings not right!

Preborn baby
NOT PROTECTED!

Some time ago a friend of ours was out collecting / petitioning for LIFE (pro life organisation) when someone stopped to ask if it was for animal rights. When they were told it was for ‘pro life‘ anti-abortion they said ‘oh, not interested then’ and walked on. Not an uncommon attitude I suspect.

Chinese Abortion Apology – but no UK Apology

http://wellspentjourney.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/de_diagram1.jpg
From Matt’s Blog at http://wellspentjourney.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/the-roots-of-the-abortion-debate/

Reported on the BBC News over here is a forced abortion in China. Feng Jianmei was injected with a chemical forcing an abortion that took place 36 hours later.

It was kind of weird to hear the sense of shock and outrage by the BBC when their normal position is support for the Pro Choice lobby.

I’m tempted to ask ‘what’s the problem, it’s only a fetus’. We as a country support the taking – murder – of  thousands of unborn children every year. And yet, because China forces a woman to have an abortion there is outrage. We read of ‘shock over abortion photo’ yet where is the shock and outrage over thousands of children being murdered annually in the self-righteous West! Here in the UK!

There is a You Tube video of  Feng Jianmei but the picture of the aborted child is  blurred out. Why? To sanitize the full horror. We should be allowed to see the full horror of this horrible procedure. The picture above is from an excellent post by Matt at Well Spent Journey. Without the moral grounding of the Christian faith, a faith people do not want, a faith a secular State does not really want there is no problem whatsoever with murdering babies. Without a belief in God there is no such thing as Evil. There is no basis for the concept of evil without the Christian God.

See my previous post for more on this subject.

Related articles

The Aftermath of Abortion

The Pro Choice Abortion ideology present the only real difficulty about having an abortion is the hoops a woman has to jump through in order to get one. But there is a real ongoing cost to taking the decision to ‘terminate’ the child.

To read about the journey one woman has made and is making go to Rebekah’s Hope. Michelle had an abortion some 20 years ago and is still working through that decision.