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Lack of safeguards in Irish abortion bill ‘an affront to conscience’

October 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 1

Dublin, Ireland, Oct 8, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Irish bishops on Friday lamented that the draft bill to legalize abortion in the Republic would require pro-life healthcare professionals to provide abortion referrals, calling the provision “an affront to conscience.”

“The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018 poses a very real practical and moral dilemma for healthcare professionals who believe in the fundamental human right to life and in their own responsibility to serve life,” read an Oct. 5 statement from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

They noted that the bill envisages that in the first twelve weeks, abortion will generally be chemically induced.

“This presumes that pharmacists, whether in hospitals or in private practice, will routinely stock and dispense drugs whose specific purpose is to end human life. No provision is made for pharmacists to opt out on the grounds of conscientious objection.”

The bishops added that while the bill allows doctors and nurses to opt out of providing abortion, it nevertheless “requires that … they refer the patient to a colleague who will perform the procedure. This requirement may have the appearance of respecting freedom of conscience but, in reality, it requires a healthcare professional to cooperate in what he or she sincerely believes is doing harm to one patient and taking the life of another.”

“We ask the Government, and wider society, to respect the right of all healthcare professionals and pharmacists to exercise conscientious objection not only by refusing to participate actively in abortion but also by declining to refer their patients to others for abortion,” the bishops said.

They said, “Healthcare professionals, pharmacists and ancillary healthcare workers, should not face legal, professional or financial penalties or any form of discrimination for their commitment to respect life.”

A significant number of general practitioners in the Republic of Ireland are appealing not to be forced to refer patients to other doctors for abortions.

The bishops noted that in New Zealand, healthcare professionals “opt in” to the provision of abortion, rather than opting out; nor are those who object to the procedure obliged to provide referrals for it.

“We believe that the Government, by following this approach, could demonstrate respect for the freedom of conscience of healthcare professionals. We ask politicians, whatever their position on the termination of pregnancy, to work towards this.”

Irish Health Minister Simon Harris criticized the opt-in stance, which is supported by the National Association of General Practitioners. In June, the group of 2,000 practitioners unanimously voted in favor of the “opt-in” method.

The Irish bishops said that freedom of conscience is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that “to strip a person of the right to freedom of conscience is to undermine his or her fundamental dignity as a person.”

“At this challenging time, we encourage all Catholics to pray for healthcare professionals and to pray for politicians that they, and we too, may have the wisdom to know what is right and the courage to do what is right.”

Ireland faces a potential shortage of doctors willing to participate in abortions; a March survey of Irish healthcare professionals found that that roughly seven out of 10 general practitioners in Ireland are unwilling to perform abortions.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar clarified to the Dáil in June that individual medical professionals will be able to opt out of performing abortions, but entire hospitals will not be able to do so. Many publicly-funded hospitals have historic ties to the Catholic Church and operate under Catholic ethics.

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News Briefs

In Scotland, flying the Vatican flag ‘provocatively’ could be criminal

October 4, 2018 CNA Daily News 2

Edinburgh, Scotland, Oct 4, 2018 / 03:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Police Scotland maintains that “if flown or displayed in a provocative manner or altered,” the display of the Vatican flag could be a criminal act.

Scotland has experienced significant sectarian division since the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century, which led to the formation of the Church of Scotland, an ecclesial community in the Calvinist and Presbyterian tradition which is the country’s largest religious community.

Sectarianism and crimes motivated by anti-Catholicism have been on the rise in Scotland in recent years. Football hooliganism in the country can be linked to sectarian football clubs.

“It would be very concerning if the Vatican flag was in any circumstance deemed offensive,” a Church spokesman said, according to the Scottish Catholic Observer.

The Herald obtained the Police Scotland document which shows symbols and flags, the “provocative” use of which could be a crime.

“Whilst the display of the following flags is not an offence, in itself, if flown or displayed in a provocative manner or altered, constitute a common law Breach of the Peace or an offence under Section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2000,” the police document stated.

Among the flags deemed potentially criminal are those of the Vatican, Israel, Ireland, Palestine, Catalonia, and the Basque Country.

“If they are altered to contain a reference to a proscribed organisation they may constitute an offence under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.”

“Irrespective of the above, the possession of these flags within a football ground may constitute a breach of ground regulations.”

Police Scotland Chief Superindendent John McKenzie said that “often flags themselves are not the issue but the criminal conduct that accompanies them is. This could include, but is not limited to, threatening gestures or words, or flags being amended to show support for a proscribed terrorist group or amendments which constitute a hate crime.”

And a spokesman for the Scottish government said, “It is not an offence to fly the flag of the Vatican or any other country.”

A Church spokesman noted that the Vatican flag “has been flown proudly in Scotland on the occasion of two Papal visits without upset or incident and its use should not be restricted in any way.”

Sectarianism has been a problem in Scotland in recent years.

Glasgow has rerouted Protestant marches associated with the Orange Order.

An April poll of Catholics in Scotland found that 20 percent reported personally experiencing abuse of prejudice toward their faith; and a government report on religiously-motivated crime in 2016 and 2017 found a concentration of incidents in Glasgow.

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