As births decline in Ireland, silence on the impact of abortion

This week, the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) has said that Ireland’s birthrate is falling fast.

In 2010, 77,000 babies were born in Ireland. In 2024, the number fell to just 54,000 births. Yet in all the media reports in recent days about the lower numbers of babies being born, there wasn't one mention of Ireland's massive abortion rate.

For years, the Pro Life Campaign has been calling for better supports for pregnant women and new families - financial help, housing and other supports - so that women don't feel compelled or pressured to have abortions for economic reasons.

Some progress was made in 2025 in convincing politicians that urgent action is needed. For those members of the Oireachtas still refusing to acknowledge reality, it’s time for them to join the dots.

Oppressive Move: UK brings first-ever criminal charge for silent prayer near abortion clinic

In the days leading up to Christmas, West Midlands Police and the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service pressed criminal charges against Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for silently praying outside an abortion clinic.

This latest development is the first charge under the new “buffer zones” law in the UK, which took effect in late 2024. Since January, the pro-life volunteer had been under investigation for engaging in silent prayer on a public street close to an abortion clinic in Birmingham.

Ms Vaughan-Spruce, who was the keynote speaker at the Pro Life Campaign’s National Conference last October in Dublin, was previously cleared in court and received a police payout for having been unjustly arrested twice over her silent prayers.

College professor arrested for murder of woman who refused abortion

Police in La Crosse, Wisconsin have arrested and charged college professor Matthew Sierra for the alleged murder of 27-year-old Alexis Pickett and her unborn child.

The charges stem from an investigation into a residential fire in which 27-year-old Pickett and her unborn child were found dead. Sierra, who is 38, now faces charges including first- degree intentional homicide. He - who taught mechanical design at Western Technical College - has been placed on administrative leave. Authorities allege that although Sierra and Pickett already had one child together, he opposed the prospect of another. It is further claimed that Sierra pressured Pickett to have an abortion after she became pregnant again, but she refused. It’s also reported that a witness told police Sierra “freaked out” and

threatened Pickett if she refused to get an abortion.

We don’t need to point out to regular readers of Vital Signs that stories like this are becoming all too common - in Ireland as well as across the US and Europe. Yet there’s still no national or international taskforce in place to examine what is happening, to assess the true scale of the problem, or to recommend the corrective action needed to end this scourge and appalling violation of women and their babies.

UK to protect lobsters from pain, but not unborn babies in abortions

In late December, the UK government announced plans to ban traditional methods used by chefs and others to kill lobsters and crabs in the cooking process. The proposal forms part of the Labour Party’s new animal welfare crackdown

The ban will not stop with lobsters and crabs. It will also apply to shrimp, prawns, squid, and octopus - species officially recognised as “sentient beings capable of experiencing pain and suffering” in 2022 by the previous Conservative government.

The announcement has sparked fierce backlash from restauranteurs, who argue the move will drive up costs and effectively end the sale of live shellfish. David Jarrad, chief executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, warned that customers simply won’t pay premium prices for shellfish that arrive already dead.

Yet beyond the economic and practical implications lies a deeper moral question. Many of the same politicians enthusiastically supporting this ban have consistently rejected proposals to offer precautionary pain relief to unborn babies during late-term abortions. To many observers, this reveals a striking inconsistency in how suffering is acknowledged and prioritised - and the profound disregard shown toward unborn human babies.

This ethical disconnect was similarly evident in Ireland shortly before Christmas. In the Dáil, some TDs voted to ban fox hunting, citing animal welfare concerns, having voted minutes earlier to progress a Private Members’ Bill that would allow abortion on request up to birth.