{"id":9147,"date":"2018-12-04T16:24:06","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T00:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=9147"},"modified":"2019-04-18T16:34:39","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T23:34:39","slug":"nurses-and-midwives-for-life-ireland-letter-to-irish-health-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=9147","title":{"rendered":"Nurses and Midwives for Life Ireland Letter to Irish Health Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dear Mr. Harris,                      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are dedicated, hardworking nurses and  midwives who care for patients from conception to natural death. We have  a conscientious commitment to life which accords with the values  inherent in Our Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. We respect and  defend the dignity of every stage of human life and we have a  responsibility to make every valid or reasonable effort to protect the  life and health of pregnant women and their unborn babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are extremely concerned that the Health  (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018, in particular, Part 3  Section 24 (3)*, will seriously impact on our ability to practise. In  2018 two Scottish midwives Mary Doogan and Connie Wood were forced to  quit their jobs when they refused to oversee abortions. For the first  time this legislation, which differs from the 2013 Act, will permit the  intentional ending of the life of the unborn child up to birth. For us  as nurses and midwives participation in termination of pregnancy defined  in relation to a pregnant woman, as a medical procedure which is  intended to end the life of a foetus, is morally objectionable and  conflicts with our conscientious commitment to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Participation includes any supervision,  delegation, planning or supporting of staff involved in termination of  pregnancy. We do not want to be discriminated against by our employers  or victimised as employees if we exercise our right to freedom of  conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis  in the Health Service and as yet there has been no effort made by you as  Minister for Health to consult the nursing or midwifery professions on  the clinical implications of this bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> We are calling on you as Minister for Health:                     <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(a) to consult our professions in relation to this legislation and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(b) to support the amendments that have been  tabled to protect our right to freedom of conscience so we will not be  forced out of our professions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yours sincerely,                     <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><Marie Donnelly RGN Chair,<br\/>\nMargaret McGovern RGN Vice Chair,<br\/>\nCatherina O&#8217;Sullivan RPN Secretary,<br\/>\nFiona McHugh, Clinical Paediatric Nurse Specialist<br\/>\nPRO and Nurses and Midwives for  Life Ireland<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"*\">*<\/a>Section 24 (3) A person who has a conscientious  objection referred to in subsection (1) shall, as soon as may be, make such arrangements for the transfer of care of the pregnant woman concerned as may be necessary to enable the woman to avail of the \ntermination of pregnancy concerned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Mr. Harris, We are dedicated, hardworking nurses and midwives who care for patients from conception to natural death. We have a conscientious commitment to life which accords with the values inherent in Our Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. We respect and defend the dignity of every stage of human life and we have &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=9147\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Nurses and Midwives for Life Ireland Letter to Irish Health Minister&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,41,10],"tags":[261,3675],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-9147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-ireland","category-news-releases","tag-nurses","tag-nurses-and-midwives-for-life-ireland"],"yoast_head":"\r\n<title>Nurses and Midwives for Life Ireland Letter to Irish Health Minister - Protection of Conscience Project News<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=9147\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nurses and Midwives for Life Ireland Letter to Irish Health Minister - Protection of Conscience Project News\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Mr. Harris, We are dedicated, hardworking nurses and midwives who care for patients from conception to natural death. 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