Over two thirds of Irish people believe that unborn children should be given legal protection, a new poll reveals. A Red C poll, commissioned by the Pro Life Campaign (PLC), showed that 68 per cent of people support constitutional protection for the unborn child.
The poll showed that just over a quarter of people, 26 per cent, opposed such protection, while five per cent didn't know nor had an opinion.
A quota-controlled sample of 1,025 people aged 18 and over was asked a number of questions.
The first question was: “Are you in favour of, or opposed to, constitutional protection for the unborn that prohibits abortion but allows the continuation of the existing practice of intervention to save a mother’s life in accordance with Irish medical ethics?”
When the don’t know / no opinion responses are excluded, 73 per cent of the public support legal protection and 27 per cent are opposed to it.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the PLC said it believed that the new poll findings confirm “the existence of widespread public support for an approach to protecting the unborn child based on the important distinction between ensuring women receive all necessary medical treatments in pregnancy and prohibiting abortion.”
It said that the latest figures on maternal mortality from the World Health Organisation showed the success of the Irish medical profession in providing the treatments women need in pregnancy without recourse to an abortion regime.
The figures show that Ireland, without legalised abortion, is the safest country for pregnant women, out of 172 countries.
The poll findings also come amidst a general election campaign, in which the Labour party has committed itself to legalising abortion along the lines of the 1992 X case ruling by the Supreme Court.
They also come in the wake of the European Court of Human Rights judgment in A, B & C -v- Ireland, which led to calls from some politicians and abortion advocacy groups for abortion to be made available in Ireland.
That ruling, however, according to the PLC, does not require Ireland to legislate for abortion but leaves it up to Ireland to decide its own laws on abortion.
The poll also addressed the question of protecting human embryos from destructive experimentation.
A recent Supreme Court decision said that human embryos are not protected by the Constitution but that their protection is a matter for the Government.
Respondents were asked, “Do you think the Government should legislate, or not, to protect human embryos in the area of stem cell research and assisted human reproduction?”
The poll findings showed that 62 per cent supported legal protection of the human embryo, 27 per cent oppose it and 11 per cent don’t know or have no opinion. When the don’t know / no opinion responses are excluded, 69 per cent of the public support legal protection and 31 per cent are opposed to it.
The PLC described the findings as “very reassuring.”
Before Election Day, the PLC again called on candidates and parties to state where they stand on the right to life of the unborn child and on legal protection for the human embryo.
“Voters are entitled to know where candidates and parties stand on these vitally important issues. How we treat the most vulnerable defines how committed we are as a society to an authentic vision of human rights,” its statement said.
No comments:
Post a Comment