Ireland's Abortion Referendum

In 1983 after a referendum, Ireland added what is known as the "Eight Amendment" to its Constitution. 
The wording is found below-

"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."

Thirty-five years later the highly sensitive subject of abortion has been thrust into the spotlight due to the planned referendum to repeal this Eighth Amendment on the 25th May. 

By permitting the vote the Irish Government has not only pandered to political liberalism but also endorsed a process that, if approved, will lead to the deaths of an incalculable number of innocent children.

Recently, the Government was to be commended for their swift and unreserved condemnation of the murder of innocents in places such as Manchester and London, but this same Government clearly fails to recognise that life within the womb is also to be preserved and protected. 

Abortion transcends national boundaries and political ideologies. Life is not the creation of man but of the God of Heaven. God created man in His own image and breathed life into him so that man "became a living soul" (Genesis ch 2v7), thus setting him apart from the animal kingdom. As such, human life is precious, and a warning is given against taking this life, except in righteous judgement. 

Since Scripture clearly shows that God alone created life, it naturally follows that no human being has an absolute right over their own life or that of another. This prohibition also extends to the child in the womb. 

While some try to dispute the point at which life begins, the Free Presbyterian Church in Ireland totally rejects the view that the unborn child is not a living person. The Bible plainly teaches that life begins at conception.  

• The Psalmist David writes "for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139v14). 
• Job specifically says "There is a man child conceived",(Job ch 3v3). 
• It is said of Jeremiah the prophet "before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee" (Jeremiah ch 1v5). 
• Dr Luke records how Elizabeth rejoiced at the Virgin Mary's news and how that "the babe leaped in her womb" (Luke ch 1v41).

From the moment of conception, a new person forms within the mother, one who is genetically distinct and physically separate from her. So then, the issue of abortion cannot only be a matter of maternal choice because it involves purposefully taking away the life of another human being. In no other walk of life would this be considered either lawful or moral. 

While we recognize that there may be circumstances where both the life of mother and child cannot simultaneously be preserved and acknowledge that the support needed for each expectant mother can differ, it must be stressed that the deliberate act of abortion can never be justified. 

Government legislation may seek to accommodate the destruction of the body but it cannot destroy the eternal soul. For anyone to sentence the life of an unborn child to its physical death is an act of murder and rebellion against God the Creator.      

For these reasons the preservation of the Eighth Amendment must be maintained.