SF and SDLP MLAs should know that All Lives Matter

“Last night Sinn Féin and some SDLP MLAs refused to vote to reject Westminster Abortion legislation. Sinn Féin and SDLP MLAs also refused to reject the gross discrimination of the Westminster legislation that allows abortion up until birth for an unborn child with a disability” according to Deputy Leader of Aontú Dr Anne McCloskey.

“As an Irish Republican party, Aontú looks forward to the day when our nation can be constituted as envisaged by the United Irishmen on Belfast’s Cave Hill in 1798. They asked that Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter unite in their common home, and acknowledge that English laws would never be made in the interests of Irish people”.

“In the dying days of a failed Westminster parliament, and in contravention of constitutional law, abortion till birth was foisted upon the people of the north. This is a devolved issue, as recognized in the Good Friday Agreement. A consultation exercise regarding this unconstitutional interference of Westminster was undertaken. 79% of 41,000 responses opposed the new laws. This was ignored, because, to many in the British Establishment, the Irish can’t be trusted to organize their own affairs.

“How ironic then, that in our local legislature last night, the acceptance of British rule in Ireland came from Sinn Féin. We saw the new “woke” co-opted SDLP MLA’s ditching their party’s right to life heartland vote in a pathetic effort to woo the neo-liberal vote. Its also ironic that MLAs that festooned their social media with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter would not use their vote to confirm that the lives of unborn children with disabilities matter too”.

“That a legislature in a supposedly civilized society is required to debate eugenics in 2020 is shocking. That Sinn Féin and SDLP MLAs are dividing life up between “lives worthy of living and lives unworthy of living” is shocking. Today, a clear message has been sent to the British parliament. The courageous witness of people like Heidi Crowter, a woman with Down’s syndrome, and Peter Martin, born with a cleft palate are an inspiration. They are the embodiment of the truth that All Lives Matter.

The Irish political system is radically broken

In Ireland the vast majority of elected representatives put a finger in the air to check which way the political wind is blowing. They have one eye on their leaders – seeking brownie points – and another eye keeping their seat safe. If elected reps shut up and do as they’re told, they are promoted; if they stand up for what they believe in, they are demoted. No wonder we have the political class we have. No wonder one point one billion euro is being buried in a hole under the National Children’s Hospital and that Stormont is in stalemate.

Throughout Ireland, many people are now afraid to say what they feel, many are afraid to respectfully engage on a range of different topics. Many feel there is a new censorship and a new political correctness in Ireland, that opposition to the establishment is being deleted.

Respectful opposition is not the enemy. Respectful opposition is a critical element of a functional democracy. Aontú will have the backbone to stand up, without fear, for you.