Who will be the first woman to die in Ireland?

Abortion up to 12 weeks is now legal — and free (i.e. funded by taxpayers) — on demand in the Republic of Ireland. If the woman’s “health” or life is at risk, or if she is carrying a baby who will be born with special needs, the unborn life may be terminated later in the pregnancy.

Who will be that first baby to lose her or his life in Ireland in the name of “choice”?For that matter, we will also never know the name of the unborn human beings who died in America today and during the coming year. They will be nameless, sent to medical waste disposal. Still without a grave, we mourn them all.

Who will be the first woman to lose her life through “free,” legal abortion in Ireland? Sadly, as has been the case in the U.S., it appears inevitable.

We know too well that it is not just the baby who almost always dies in an abortion. Healthy women die, too. This is especially tragic when Ireland had been a model for the world. As a developed nation with a national health service AND protection from abortion, the maternal mortality rate in the Republic of Ireland has been lower than that of the U.S. (as it is in Malta and Poland).

And for that matter, who, we ask, will be the first healthy woman to die in America this year from abortion? Sadly, we will hear about her when a negligent (and needless) death results in an investigation or lawsuit.

We urge every effort to ensure women in Ireland — as well as America — know they have resources and support. Women Deserve Better®.

And who will be the first medical professionals to sacrifice their careers — rather than the lives of the unborn — because they are unwilling to refer to an abortion provider (that includes employees of publicly funded Catholic hospitals)?

Quit, close, or comply: Pro-Choice is No Choice.

For so many years, we looked to Ireland as a model of a developed nation with both comprehensive health care and protection for women and children from abortion.

Now, the handful of countries that remain examples where maternal mortality is low for these reasons is even smaller.

Former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards calls free abortions in Ireland “sheer joy.”I call it sheer desperation — and pure evil.

So the race is on between abortion advocates who suddenly find “joy” and freedom in death and pro-life feminists like you and me who are committed to resources and support — including WomenDeserveBetter.com — our advocacy, and education efforts to redirecting this debate toward real joy, real hope.

In just two weeks, we will gather at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and across the country at state capitals and major cities to champion the protection of women from coercive factors (including the lack of resources and support on campus, in their workplaces, in their communities, and in their relationships) and the value of EVERY human life, no matter the circumstances.

We thank you for your support in this new year, for your sacrifice to enable us to make great strides for the most vulnerable. This year, may we be resolute in our strategic efforts to empower women and support their nonviolent choices with resources and support.

March forth.

Serrin M. Foster

President

Feminists for Life of America