HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CRITICISES HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT

Galway For Life, the Galway human rights group has expressed criticism of the report issued by the increasingly controversial Human Rights Watch, a US based advocacy group which seeks to attack Ireland’s pro-life ethos.

By criticising Ireland’s law which prohibit abortion and protects the life of the unborn child and which ensures that Ireland is one of the safest countries in the world for pregnant women and their unborn children, this group has damaged its own credibility and is making a mockery of the concept of human rights.

Galway For Life spokesperson Eilís Grealy said, “We are very disappointed but not surprised by this report.  Human Rights Watch has become an abortion advocacy group and this report is part of an ongoing co-ordinated campaign by abortion rights groups to push an abortion regime on Ireland.     One only has to look at Human Rights Watch’s almost complete lack of interest in other serious women’s rights abuses.   For example they appear to have little concern about China’s one child policy -where Chinese women are forced to undergo abortions and sterilisations by the Chinese state”  

The spokesperson added  “The Women’s Rights Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch is on record for stating that she doesn’t believe in banning sex selective abortion – which results in the abortion of baby girls because they are girls.   This practice is widespread in countries such as China and India.   The views of this organisation on the issue of abortion are extreme.

It should be noted that because of the lobbying of this organisation and others and their demands for government funding of abortion in the US, a large portion of the US population may well continue to be denied access to universal health care.   This is profoundly disappointing”, Ms. Grealy stated.

The Irish public should see this report for what it is.   A statement of political abortion ideology rather than a genuine report on human rights.

Pro Life Campaign response:  HRW claim that Ireland is in breach of human rights obligations over abortion is ridiculous