Dia dhuit from Ireland!
“Dia dhuit” means “God to you” in Gaelic, the language of Ireland – where Rich and I arrived yesterday!
I was invited to speak last night at Youth Defence’s annual conference. Good friends Bryan Kemper of Stand True and Eric Scheidler of Pro-Life Action League are also here.
Our luggage was not so interested in arriving with us; the last I knew it was still in England. So for the first time ever, I gave my speech in jeans and tennis shoes. But the crowd was understanding and forgiving.
As I tried to get my mind not to fret about this unpleasant development in the afternoon, I told myself, Well, at least I have my toothbrush and some make-up, and I brought my speech and dvds in my carry-on.
And then it hit me. For the first time in my adult life, I was living and breathing in an abortion-free country. The thought still chokes me up; I can’t fathom the wonderfulness of it. But this put my silly inconveniences into perspective. Here’s a photo of Bryan and me celebrating this fact (click all photos to enlarge)…
The fight to keep Ireland abortion-free is constant, as you might imagine. And they are surrounded by countries that have legalized abortion, some with the dastardly combination of no free speech. Many of those countries were represented at this conference, including Scotland, Britain, and Belgium. Here I am with the Scottish pro-life contingent, whose government recently denied their request to simply distribute pamphlets on fetal development because it was “too divisive”…
The Scots told me their people don’t even know what the term “pro-life” means, seriously.
So, as you might also imagine, our foreign friends cannot fathom our pro-life pickets and protests unless and until seeing our photos, videos, and stories.
As I’ve written before, the fight we pro-life activists wage in America is incredibly important role-modeling. We don’t realize we’re not only fighting to save babies here but also emulating how to fight to save babies around the world.
For instance, for the first time ever, pro-life activists in Northern Ireland conducted a 40 Days for Life operation this autumn in front of one of their “referral agencies.” These clear a path for Irish mothers wanting abortion to get them elsewhere. Here I am last night at an Irish dance after the conference with Northern Irish pro-lifers Maura and Bernadette, who many will recognize from seeing at The Dubliner after the annual DC March for Life…
Rich and I will be traveling the countryside for the next 3 days, exploring the beauty of the country and Irish culture. So my posts will be sketchy. Speaking of culture, I close with a shot of me from last night, having just learned (to a minute degree) and Irish dance, so fun!
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
J – What an exciting time so far for you in Ireland! Please bring us photos of the Irish culture and countryside as you are able.
LL
P.S. Weather in Chicago heading into the mid 60’s for a few days this week! :)
That hit me too when I spoke there a few years ago at a Divine Mercy Congress…One of the last hold outs praise God!
I am sure no one cared about the jeans…especially at a youth conference!!!!
Have fun..it is a beautiful country..
Have fun in the country of my childhood summers and my father and husband’s homeland. I love that country and pray that abortion remains illegal forever. Do not miss out on a wonderful “Irish Breakfast!” Enjoy yourself and have fun in my home away from home. :-)
Hello Jill !!!
Come to Poland one day, it’s still abortion-free country just like Ireland. We’re fighting to not give up to those who would like to change this situation.
PS. What a nice haircolour :)))
Go Ireland!
Praise God for their stand against abortion.
Over 1,000 packages of abortion drugs were seized by Irish authorities last year as evidence emerges that significant numbers of pregnant woman are taking illegal drugs to induce abortion in Ireland…
Commenting on the issue the Irish Medicines Board said. “Counterfeit and illegal medicines pose a serious threat to public health…
Choice Ireland, a pro-choice organization said that the figures indicated that at least three woman a day were ordering drugs over the Internet in attempts to terminate their pregnancy.
“It is time to face up to the reality that Irish women will go to desperate lengths and take huge risks to end pregnancies they feel they cannot continue,” group’s spokeswoman, Sinéad Ahern told the Irish Times.
In 2009, 4,422 Irish women traveled to Britain for abortions, down from 4,600 for the previous year according to official figures from the British Department of Health.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Huge-increase-in-abortion-drugs-entering-Ireland-105755638.html
Isn’t that wonderful! But then, this is the same country that brought us the “Magdalene Laundries” and a horrific sexual/physical abuse scandal on the part of the Catholic clergy. The laundries are gone and the church has been punished as a result of lawsuits and a loss of credibility. Irish women aren’t stupid. Some day choice will win out. As noted above, there’s always England which is just a short ferry or flight. Rule Brittania!
I’m so proud to be Irish! My grandparents are from Libby.
It must feel amazing to be in a country where abortion is illegal! WOW!
God speed, Jill!!
DD –
If England is just a short ferry away, why is it necessary for Ireland to legalize abortion? Women in some states endure greater transportation costs to get to an abortion clinic in the US.
“It is time to face up to the reality that Irish women will go to desperate lengths and take huge risks to end pregnancies they feel they cannot continue,” group’s spokeswoman, Sinéad Ahern told theIrish Times.
I agree. But I question the logic. If someone will go to desperate lengths to solve a problem, do you best help them by taking away the length, or taking away the desperation?
Alexandra
November 7th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
If someone will go to desperate lengths to solve a problem, do you best help them by taking away the length, or taking away the desperation?
Wow! Straight to the point!!!! Exactly!
If someone will go to desperate lengths to solve a problem, do you best help them by taking away the length, or taking away the desperation?
OOOOH Alexandra!!!
Excellent question!! :)
“ Rule Brittania!”
DD,
Huh? Aren’t you an American? (Yes, I do get your point.) Let the Irish go to Britain for their abortions, as Alexandra mentioned. I think it would be hard to keep such a secret in Ireland anyways. They’re a social, talkative bunch. (I can say that because I’m part Irish.:)
~ ~ ~
Jill,
Have a wonderful time. I hope to go there someday and not have to hear about legal abortion there ! Since they aren’t familiar with the term “pro-life”, maybe they should just stick with “anti-abortion”. Then there’s less a chance of confusing abortion with other pro-life issues that so often override the abortion issue among the ill-informed or poorly-Catechized (as happens in the U.S. with CINO’s -Catholics in name only).
DD,
One more thing. Please skip the part about the Catholic church sex scandal. It’s irrelevant to the topic of abortion. Almost every country in the world has a Catholic population so are you going to bring it up every time there’s an issue you don’t agree with the Church on? By the way, the Church has made great strides in reforming the selection process of priests. You may want to focus your energy on the population of sex offenders among other demographic groups at this time.
Enjoy the trip Jill!! Safe journey.
“Dia dhuit” means “God to you” inGaelic, the language of Ireland – where Rich and I arrived yesterday!
And the first person who can write the phonetic spelling wins a prize, right?:) (How do you pronounce that?)
It is ‘ Dia duit’, God be with you and it is pronounced as follows, jee-ah ditch. Have a wonderful time in my homeland
Amanda,
Thank you!
You really thought you were in an abortion-free country? Wow!
I do hope you enjoy your journey, I’m told it’s a lovely place :-)
The problem with allowing leftists to be priests is that sex abuse is the natural result. Having a conservative Pope, who has been dedicated to the cleaning process for many years has been BENEFICIAL to the Catholic church. We hope he has many more years with us.
Interestingly we see here a most self contradictory leftist, (DD) fighting for the abortions with the purpose of concealing sex abuse, while at the same time complaining about sex abuse.
The leftists tend to accuse others of their own faults, as a staple political tactic to disarm their opponents.
Let’s legalize rape as well, since men will go to great lengths and take any risk to commit that crime.
And also murder and armed robbery. People do these things too.
And also illegal u-turns. I see people do this all the time.
And also child molesting, since many people will go to great lengths to commit that crime.
Come to think of it, we had better legalize everything since every law has been broken by someone.
It’s about time there was a debating rule which applied to little tirades such as yours Joe.
A Godwin’s Law for invalid comparisons.
You MUST stop and have a fresh Guinness draft while there. Better yet, have two!
DD, go to Ireland and say “Rule Britannia!” from the rooftops. I dare you.
In case you’ve been asleep for the past century, Ireland is a free state. Here’s hoping Britain will one day gain the conscience to punish all forms of murder without this brutal discrimination against unborn people.
Jerry, done – 4! – love it, so creamy!
I am glad you enjoyed your time in Ireland but I would have difficulty with that organisation that invited you.
One more thing. Please skip the part about the Catholic church sex scandal. It’s irrelevant to the topic of abortion.
Read my lipstick: not all prolifers are Catholic! Some of us aren’t even religious.
There is still the fact that Ireland is not abortion-free. So any exhilaration was a little …overdone?
Well, let’s at least say that abortion isn’t officially countenanced by the Irish government – i.e. legal. We should be so lucky.
But it is partially legal Hans.
Then there would be the illegal ones taking place.
There are no legal abortions taking place in Ireland.
And here’s the real story re those abortion drugs that were seized.
http://www.youthdefence.ie/latest-news/life-institute-says-irish-times-caught-out-in-spin-on-abortion-pills/
Yes there are. Abortion is permitted if the mothers mental or physical condition warrants it.
Jill:
Well done. Man (and woman) does not live by bread alone.
DD, I’m sorry but your comment is ridiculous. Simply because people will do something wrong does not mean that we should make it legal.
If someone is going to steal my property anyway, should we simply make stealing legal? Since people murder other people, should we just go ahead and make murder legal?
There is a difference between the law of the land and moral law. Just because something is legal does not mean it is right and just because something is wrong does not mean that is illegal and that we should engage in that activity.
Abortion should be illegal. It will deter some abortions. Not all, but surely some and that is a goal worth fighting for.
Jill, I had no idea Ireland outlawed abortion!! :) That is very exciting to me. I’m just praying for some modern-day William Wilberforces here in America to end legal abortion.
See today’s Daily Mail. Illegal abortion is rampant in Ireland. “Abortion-free country” in your dreams.