Amnesty condemned for ‘pro-abortion’ campaigning

OBSTETRICIANS IN Ireland have criticised Amnesty International for “pro-abortion” campaigning after the human rights charity called for a referendum on the country’s constitutional ban on the procedure, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

Both the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and Amnesty International have called on Ireland to hold a referendum with a view to liberalising its abortion laws in line with international human rights standards.

However, nine obstetricians, led by Professor John Bonnar, Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Trinity College Dublin said Amnesty had misrepresented the standard of practice in Ireland on the management of pregnancy loss. In a letter to The Irish Times, the doctors said Amnesty’s claims were “unwarranted and unfounded”.