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WITH AN ABORTION referendum expected to take place in late May, campaigners on either side of the Eighth Amendment debate are expected to step up their activities over the coming weeks.
Teams from both sides will seek to get their message out on the doorsteps, on the airwaves, on billboards and – more than ever before – on social media.
With Facebook a main battleground in terms of getting the message out there, activists have been taking out adverts on the platform to promote their stance.
And while there are numerous adverts from Irish-based groups, there are also a number of foreign organisations posting ads aimed at sections of the Irish electorate.
Here is one example of an advert that was posted on St Patrick’s Day – from a New York-based group with a pro-life stance:
This post, at the time of writing, had over 2,300 likes on Facebook and a number of comments from Irish-based users.
Transparency
In December, the Standards in Public Office Commission issued a statement reminding people of the limits of political donations. It said that the Electoral Act (1997) had put in place prohibitions on donations from abroad “to protect against interference by foreign individuals or entities in Ireland’s domestic political processes, including elections and referendums”.
However Facebook campaigns are not regulated by this legislation – meaning individuals or groups from anywhere can pay for Facebook advertising targeting certain demographics of Irish voters.
A new initiative set up ahead of the referendum has already pinpointed a number of foreign-paid advertising campaigns on Facebook related to the upcoming Eighth Amendment referendum.
Craig Dwyer, co-founder of the Transparent Referendum Initiative, told TheJournal.ie:
“Our aim is to try and facilitate an open, honest and respectful debate during the referendum campaign.
We’re fond of a referendum here [in Ireland]. Irish people take pride in fully informing themselves before they go and vote. They have a right to know all the relevant information that is being given to them, and where it’s coming from.
The people involved with the Transparency Referendum Initiative have been linked to the pro-choice side of the referendum, and Save the 8th spokesperson John McGuirk has criticised it as a “transparent repeal initiative” and an “entirely self-appointed watchdog”.
Dwyer said that while the people involved do have their own personal views on the matter “their focus with this campaign is on transparency” on where the adverts are coming from, and called for a “respectful debate”.
The initiative’s most recent survey found 60 pro-life ads and 35 pro-choice ads, and around roughly one tenth came from abroad.
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal of people’s Facebook profiles being used to help design software to predict and influence voters’ choices at the ballot box, the issue of social media campaigning has come to the fore again.
Solicitor and data protection expert Simon McGarr told TheJournal.ie that there is nothing within Irish law to stop foreign organisations or groups from attempting to influence the upcoming referendum through Facebook adverts.
“Facebook have all the data available but the [Transparent Referendum] Initiative is a good effort,” he said.
It’s a technical workaround for Facebook’s lack of transparency.
Facebook adverts
Facebook adverts are fairly straightforward to set up, and can be placed by individuals, groups and brands. It involves creating a message, specifying the type of person you want to reach, and how many of them you want to reach.
In practice this could mean an advert could be set up by anybody, anywhere in the world and aimed at, for example, women aged in their 30s in Dublin. The amount spent will determine how many of that demographic on Facebook sees the advert.
Adverts can also be based on a person’s interests or things they’ve already looked at on Facebook. The Transparent Referendum Initiative has also highlighted adverts that were targeted on the basis of an interest in “anti-abortion movements”, “family”, “feminism” and “abortion-rights movements”.
Gavin Sheridan, transparency campaigner and co-founder of legal intelligence platform Vizlegal, told TheJournal.ie: “Just say I’ve got a million dollars in the bank, and I’m interested in the Irish referendum.
I happened to be strongly in favour of one side of the debate. I could spend my own money sending adverts to certain sections of people in Ireland. Just say I want to target women between the age of 30 and 50, and I want to give them a specific ad with a video that could change their mind about how they’re going to vote. I could do that.
Dwyer, from the Transparent Referendum Initiative, said that a key aim of his project was to highlight cases of foreign influence on the upcoming Eighth Amendment Referendum.
Between 4 March and 19 March, for example, seven adverts were detected by the initiative from a group called Expectant Mother Care-EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers (shown above).
Chris Slattery, the founder and president of Expectant Mother Care, said in a statement to TheJournal.ie:
“I am using my existing network within the pro-life movement to encourage the work of the pro-life movement in support of the existing law of the land, which protects unborn children.
I run a small non-profit and I am an Irish American. I leave it to the Irish and Facebook if you choose to ban Irish Americans from advertising in your country. But please make rules that are consistent and fair if you choose to place a ban on outside advertising.
I owe my life to Irish ancestors and I take great pride in the country enshrining in law protections for unborn life.
Dwyer said there was “a complete lack of regulation on social media around political campaigning”.
The Data Protection Commissioner said [last week] that micro targeting on social media is an issue.
In a statement, the Data Protection Commissioner also said that “in the absence of laws specifically regulating such political targeting online”, it would seek to issue guidance to people on how to trace where certain advertisements and stories on social media come from, and how they could amend their settings to not receive these stories.
How it works
The Transparent Referendum Initiative works through people signing up to a piece of software – called WhoTargetsMe – that tracks the adverts related to the referendum that are targeted to them.
When people sign up to WhoTargetsMe through the initiative’s website, it automatically records all the adverts related to the upcoming referendum that pop up on that person’s Facebook newsfeed.
Around 250 people have signed up so far, and Dwyer said that having over 500 people signed up would help to give a more thorough and accurate representation of the kinds of adverts that are being targeted to sections of the Irish public about the referendum.
So, when someone who has signed up is scrolling through Facebook and one of these ads appears, the software automatically records that this advert has appeared and adds it to the initiative’s database.
McGarr said that such a system is necessary due to the way that Facebook works. It has all this data, he said, but will not release it.
While we do not have an accurate number of how many foreign adverts are targeting Irish people ahead of the referendum, the transparency initiative is making progress towards highlighting them.
Dwyer, meanwhile, said it is good that people are now trying to inform themselves about how they could be influenced by content on social media platforms, given the recent controversies.
“The model of this content is that they appear like a regular post on your Facebook feed,” he said.
Currently, these adverts are only visible to the person seeing it. It is the case that you’re being targeted for certain reasons – age, location, interests – and this is information not available to the rest of the public.
Data protection legislation
There are concerns that the government’s controversial data protection legislation won’t address the problem of Facebook advertising in political campaigns.
Some of the marquee things in the legislation include reduction of the digital age of consent from 16 to 13, citing reasons where a person’s data privacy can be used by the State where the “public interest” is in question, and expanded powers for a new data protection commission.
It now also include fines for public bodies that breach the data protection legislation, and for the collection of and use of personal data for people who are candidates in elections, office holders or State entities of any sort.
McGarr said the proposed data protection legislation will not address this issue of Facebook advertising at all, despite the issue being “too big not to have a regulatory approach”.
“The bill as it stands is still full of errors… and not compliant with EU law,” he said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, himself, said earlier this week that he is not opposed to the social media platform being regulated. He said: “I am actually not sure we shouldn’t be regulated.
“Technology is an increasingly important trend in the world; the question is more the right regulation than should it be regulated.”
Timely intervention
Sheridan, meanwhile, said that fundamental policy questions have been present for years regarding networks like Facebook and how they can advertise to people.
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he said, “the logical consequence of what happened in the US would mean it could happen here or anywhere else.
We need a policy discussion now. [The Cambridge Analytica scandal] is good timing. I wish it had happened earlier. It has made people far more conscious, and aware of the type of things that can happen.
McGarr added: “There should be an awareness that there may be people or groups who would display adverts that don’t look like adverts. It is revealing something that has been widespread. People will now start to recognise it for what it is when it appears [in their newsfeed].”
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Dear undecided voter, ignore the ads, do your homework, THINK, and form your own opinion. Then, use that opinion to help reach a decision on an extremely important issue. Be pragmatic, be informed, be honest.
@Abortionismurder: Very telling that you are giving people the conclustion people will reach before they think for themselves
@Abortionismurder: how much are you paid to do this?
I hope you’re not doing this for free, there’s big money from evangelicals for trying to disrupt the Irish democratic process
@Abortionismurder: ***anonymous account alert***
@Abortionismurder: how many women have been charged with murder after having an abortion ?
@Abortionismurder: try not using a fake account if u want to be taken seriously. R even be a bit clever r try wit if u want to be a good troll
@Abortionismurder: thanks
@The Risen: I don’t have a Facebook account so I don’t see the ads. I’ve done my homework, thought about it and formed my own opinion. I then used that opinion to help reach a decision on an extremely important issue. I was pragmatic, informed and very honest. And guess what my conclusion is.?.. it is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being… Thanks the Risen. I was on the fence but your well informed comment just helped me see sense. Good man. Keep up the good work.
@Abortionismurder: of all the articles to try to be a smart a$$ about commenting anonymously….
@Abortionismurder: did you not read the article?
@Abortionismurder: i would be pro life but that stance precludes that there is only one way to look at this. And it isnt true. I may not agree with the other ways to look at this but i cant deny nor should you that they dont or cant exist. In this Risen is completely on the money. I may not agree with much if anything of what he says but that im afraid is the only honest way to look at this entire debate. Ignore the soundbites…inform yourself and then think hard about it. This is a democracy…its how thing’s should be done.
@Kevin Tyrrell: Well said. it’s weird that he’s getting a bad reaction for the comment.
@Alan: Well done Alan, and although I will not be voting the same as you, at least you have also put the effort in.
@Alan: Sarcasm?
@Abortionismurder: so, a hypothetical unborn should be automatically considered more important than my ability to work and care for myself? the fact that pregnancy has a very high chance of leaving me permanently disabled is just a by-the-by?
why am i less deserving of being protected? do i not matter simply because i’m already alive? should i not be allowed to maintain a lifestyle that allows me to remain a functioning and contributing member of society?
or should i just turn into a baby-making machine that can’t do anything for herself? would that be the better option? because that’s all i feel like the “pro-life” people want from me.
@The Risen: what way will you be voting then?
@Abortionismurder: Having the guts to have your actual identity tied to your words does show that you whole heartedly stand behind them. Hiding behind anonymity does in fact increase your likelihood of being taken as a troll because anonymity allows you to behave in a way you wouldn’t in normal polite society. There studies out there that show this very clearly if you want to do a search on it. So yes, having your personal details associated with your Twitter a/c does give your opinion more relevance. However, your particular opinion has lost relevance in an age where more people have access to relevant information and can more freely think for themselves.
@Abortion is murder – Abortion is a medical procedure in one instance while a spontaneous bodily function in another. Murder is strictly a legal term.It’s the premeditated killing of one human being on another human being..So this means that your profile name is total emotional bollocks..Are you still confused ?
@Dave O Keeffe: I would have thought the way to look at this by Risen is the only way we should be looking ar any referendum. Its what society is built on. If we are just spouting rhetoric and going by what an ideology prescribes…be it on either side of the debate…then we are lost and group think reigns. The individual may as well not count beyond that.
@Kevin Tyrrell: sadly that seems to be the direction things are going in
@Alan: so it’s not wrong to force women to continue with pregnancies that are affecting their health both mental and physical?
So pro life groups from abroad are trying to interfere. And pro life groups can afford twice the number of ads. Interesting
@Martin Byrne: Pro-repeal groups from abroad are also trying to interfere. Or is interference from abroad only deemed wrong when the views of those doing the interfering differ from your own ? (and mine, in this particular case)
@Tommy Roche: he did mention both when he said pro-life can afford twice as Manny ads.
@Martin Byrne: Correction, pro life groups from abroad are being paid to interfere.
@Dave O Keeffe: And that’s another thing. Why the assumption that pro-life can ‘afford’ more ad-space than pro-choice just because they buy more ad-space ? Seems to be an argument designed to insinuate ‘big money’ involvement. Could it be as simple as them looking at the opinion polls and deciding that they need to up their game ? I’m sure if the opinion polls were reversed we’d see the pro-choice groups increase advertising to get their message across.
@Lemonwilly: To play devils advocate, what about the pro-choice groups from abroad who are also advertising ? Where is their money coming from ?
@Tommy Roche: I think it’s big money on both sides to be honest. Considering the advertising is the only thing foreign interested parties can do I’d say they’re both putting all into that and therefore it’s not entirely unreasonable to assume that based on having twice as many ads that foreign pro-life groups have twice as much at their disposal at this point.
@Martin Byrne: Forget for one moment the issues relating to social media and consider the greater risk posed by the Irish media to the democratic process: highly concentrated ownership including at least one monopoly player; highly concentrated operations in one geographic area with the key players all knowing each other and, most importantly, lack of diversity of opinion amongst journalists with most sharing similar views on social issues.
@Brian Deane: that’s a concern but at least they put a real person’s name on every article so you know who it’s coming from and can do some research on their personal history with the issue.
@Tommy Roche: the only ads and billboards i’ve seen anywhere have been anti-repeal.. other than about 2 posters relating to the pro-repeal march a few weeks back, (and i live in cork city), i’ve seen nothing else from that side.
i’ve seen the antis out campaigning on the streets as well, nothing from the pros.
so, based on my personal experience.. the answer would be “yes” based on the fact that i’ve only seen action from one side.
i don’t believe foreign groups from either side should be involved, for what it’s worth. it’s our battle, not theirs.
@Mirabelle Stonegate: ‘one’ pro life group ‘has’ raised over €1 million last year alone…the abortion rights group ‘hope’ to raise €500,000 for their ‘repeal’ campaign..
Time to log off & delete.
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: 1st line of the article is incorrect. It’s not an abortion referendum. It’s a human rights referendum.
@Rosie Murray: Actually it’s an referendum the alter the constitution. Whatever legislation follows will be voted on by our representatives, but it will not be a referendum.
@Rosie Murray: The human right to dehumanize more like it.
@Rosie Murray: a human beings right to their bodily autonomy..
@Gerald Kelleher: you’ll need to get onto every medical college and tell them of your hatred of them ‘dehumanising’ the bay-bee..
Well its easy to figure it out where the money will be coming from for them, youth defence’s facebook page has something like 60% of its followers from the states with maybe only 10-15% from here.
@Ian McNally: The Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary will stop this abominable referendum from passing. Millions have prayed the Rosary in Ireland over the last few months, and you will be defeated through the power of prayer. So what if most of the money has come from America, abortion is evil and babies lives traverse countries and continents.
@LoveBoth: babies lives certainly traversed countries and continents when the nuns were selling them to rich Americans didnt they, except the ones that ended up in unmarked mass graves that is.
@LoveBoth: How sweet, trying to make it a denominational Christian issue when it isn’t no more than it is a gender issue. If I didn’t know better I would say…..
@Ian McNally: I think the left will be in for another shock with this referendum.
@phil: I agree, the Leftist liberals ignore the power of the blood of Christ at their peril, he didn’t spill it so Marxists could execute their baby genocide. I’ve seen so many people say they are Pro-Life but not religious, nonsense, you cannot defend the right to life and not believe in God Almighty.
@Eyepopper: That was only a small number of nuns, the vast majority of nuns raised, educated and cared for the children, many of whom went on to have very successful careers.
@LoveBoth: Cracks me up – people who say the rosary probably think you are talking about the Marx brothers. People are not fools.
@Gerald Kelleher: Wrong, I’m talking about actual miracles with proof that have happened from praying the rosary, #SaveThe8th will be the next miracle. http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/catholic/7-astounding-holy-rosary-miracles.aspx
@LoveBoth: bahahahahaha. You nutter.
@LoveBoth: “only a small number of nuns”, oh well thats ok then. After all, relatively speaking, only a small number of priests raped kids too, and only a small number of the hierarchy facilitated decades of child rape by covering up the abuse of thousands of victims and labelling them liars (granted some of them occupied the highest offices in the church, but i’m sure that was just an unfortunate coincidence).
@LoveBoth: so you’re saying that jebus and Mary are going to pull a Vlad and interfere in our democratic system? There’s a 14 year od girl in Tipp that could have done with their help recently but no, they’re sitting on their hands waiting for the referendum. You’d have to wonder what Mary’s real thoughts on being a 12 year old impregnated against her will were.
@LoveBoth: Spot the Repealer..!!!! Now now it’s only the No camp that are suppose to be at this..!!!
@LoveBoth: Spot the Repealer..!!!
@LoveBoth: Spot the Repealer..!!!
@Dave O Keeffe: cant believe you took that Repealers message seriously..
@Stephen Duffy: who said it was only the no camp? There’s a good rule when it comes to this issue, if it sounds ridiculous and involves religion its either a fake or Iona, either way, I stand by my reply
@LoveBoth: Unless Jesus has a way of cheating the voting procedure I doubt any of that rubbish is likely…. plus praying will just scuff your knees a little. Millions also have not said the rosary…. most Irish folks wouldn’t even know what that was, certainly not a million of them.
I wonder how many sock puppet accounts here are bought and paid for?
It doesn’t matter, the American right will not control Irish women no more than the Catholic church will anymore. It’s time to remove church dogma from the constitution and trust the women of Ireland
@Chucky Arlaw: Secularism is the way forward but people need to decide whether it’s a woman’s right to terminate a human life, albeit one that’s growing inside of her. It’s not as black and white as giving women rights, or reducing the power of the church, as other issues are.
@Chucky Arlaw: I find it very strange that at a time when the FBI are investigating possible Russian interference in the American election process, some Americans see no problem interfering with Irish referendums.
They seem to think that because they have ‘Irish heritage’, an uncle on their mother’s, cousin’s, grandfather’s, nephew’s side of the family this gives them some sort of divine right to interfere in our legal process. It doesn’t. Nor does the excuse ‘because it says so in the Holy Book’. If I were to believe everything I’ve read in books over the years and act upon them I’d be locked up, especially those Harry Potter ones, that’s some weird sh!t.
@Arch Angel: I am a practising catholic, but I wish religion wasn’t involved in this debate. At least not as much as it is. My faith has defined my opinion surely, but I have a healthy disregard for my faith in matters of “the flesh”… but it’s two facts that made my mind up; 8,000,000+ abortions in the UK since it’s introduction. 34% of all abortions in the UK are repeats. Safe and legal? Yes. Rare? Nope. 100 croker parks full of dead babies/fetuses/entities ain’t rare by my book. If our inept politicians had come up with decent and reflective legislation I’d be saying yes. But of course they went populist. Try again dail.
@Ruairi O Neill: yeah you’re dead right, we can’t trust women to know their situations better than we know their situations and those bloody politicians, who do they think they are coming up with legislation with the will of the majority in mind!!!
@Ruairi O Neill: by the way, when you provide statistics its always best to provide the source, makes it more credible,bot that I’m questioning them.
To be clear, because ironically, they’re not particularly transparent about it, but two of the founders of the Transparent Referendum Initiative are, or have until shortly before the foundation of this group, been prominent members of the Repeal The 8th lobby. Keep this in mind when you decide with how much of a pinch of salt you should take their observations.
@Brian Lenehan: to be clear, the Catholic Church have had their fingers in every single institution ensuring their control of the state and women of Ireland since the founding of the state.. Keep that in mind whenever you’re listening to someone who’s anti-choice
@Chucky Arlaw: What is it with pro-aborts and their obsession with the Catholic Church? Abortion is a Human Rights issue, the life of the unborn is at risk. If the RCC want to take a stance on this then so be it. Just as the RCC being at the forefront in fighting poverty doesn’t make poverty a religious issue, should they be outspoken against abortion (and they most certainly have not been in recent times), their contribution will not make this a religious issue.
This will not be a referendum on religion, it is a referendum on whether you are happy for the most defenceless amongst us, the child in the womb, is entitled to have a right to life.
@Brian Lenehan: quote love both comment on this article The Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary will stop this abominable referendum from passing. Millions have prayed the Rosary in Ireland over the last few months, and you will be defeated through the power of prayer.
In addition the old men and women at the anti choice march carrying religious crosses, statues and rosaries. Not about religion my eye.,,
@Michelle_Herbert: You have to a little more switched on than that Michelle when something comes out of the blue like that, especially in the Journal comments section.
@Brian Lenehan: i’m happy for any child that is wanted and will be loved to be born…
but as someone that never wants children, and is in a position that pregnancy could cause life-long disability, abortion access is about as close to sterilisation as this country seems to want me to get..
sure, the hse says sterilisation is available to any woman that wants it.. but trying to get approved is a different story. when you literally have a consultant say that they won’t sterilise you until you have at least 5 children, and that they will instead help you to get pregnant.. clearly something is very wrong… i’ve been deemed psychologically sound enough to have made this decision, my GP backs me, and yet.. no one is willing to perform the procedure. i’m 30, not 18.. this wasn’t an overnight decision.. i decided at 5 i was never going to give birth to a baby, ever. at 16 i started daydreaming about being sterile.. in my 20s i prayed to any potential higher powers that may exist that i had polycystic ovary syndrome, so that i would be infertile.. and yet somehow, my choice is invalid, because i’m female.. so i’ll fight for a choice i can have a say in!
oh, and i’m looking at having to travel abroad for sterilisation, if i can find someone abroad to do it!
@Brian Lenehan: an embryo does not have a ‘right to life’ -the woman does.
@Brian Lenehan: lets have look at a little Catholic involvement in irish society
101 priests in single diocese accused of abuse in 40 years
https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/101-priests-in-single-diocese-accused-of-abuse-in-40-years-268345.html
*Tuam mother and baby work house 796-dead babies in a 36 year period*
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/q-a-the-tuam-babies-and-children-who-died-1.2998787
@Brian Lenehan: It is in fact polarised into religious and non religious views, whether you like it or not. That is not because half the population are not religious…. its because for hundreds of years people have been told what to do by the church and now they resent the church saying anything…EVEN when they are morally correct.
Hence the input of these American and foreign groups will in fact influence this referendum…. but NOT the way they would like!
The Transparent Referendum is a repeal front group run by ‘repeal the 8th’ supporters masquerading as an independent arbiter. Total phonies who are not even transparent themselves.
@Emma Murphy: that is entirely possible
@Emma Murphy: you lot know about phonies, Noel pattern along with your faceless or foreign profiles.
@Emma Murphy: the use of the term Transparency by them is laughable as that is exactly what they are NOT. They are guilty of what they claim to be searching for and trying to root out. Pro-choice hypocrisy at its dirtiest and lowest..
Is it me or is all this facebook ad shite a huge non story?!
@Leroy:
It’s you.
@Leroy: Definitely you, but say hi to vlad for us!
No matter how much those with deep pockets try (
I see nations getting upset that their electorate can’t think for themselves and have lost the intuitive ability to distinguish what is reasonable from what is not. I have dealt with a 300 year old academic scam that is basically propaganda packaged in linguistic gymnastics as fact yet the readership here are unable to think for themselves and see the same thing as I do even with supporting imaging or the words of the original innovators on one side and the scam artists on the other.
The same with this issue, the way the term ‘fetus’ morphed from being the package of a woman and developing child to an isolated and nondescript entity within the womb for extermination purposes is awful without the need for further comment -
Amazing what societies will do in order to deceive themselves whereas individuals who treasure their own ability to reason will not accept propaganda from anyone.
@Gerald Kelleher: care to tell us what the Romans thought of abortion after providing us with their original definition of foetus? Because it seems to me that the meaning of the word may have been different but they were far more willing to allow abortions than even the limits being proposed in the event of a repeal vote
@Gerald Kelleher: “I see nations getting upset that their electorate can’t think for themselves and have lost the intuitive ability to distinguish what is reasonable from what is not.”
Says the christian fundamentalist that never sees the irony of using his smartphone to diss science for asking the hard questions of his faith.
@Dave O Keeffe: If you want to describe a pregnant woman in latin, the term is fetus, if you want to exterminate a developing child you isolate the developing child as an impersonal term ‘fetus’ in an act of self-deception. This pro-life vs pro-choice thing is beneath reasonable people but if people wish to know how other countries managed to introduce extermination by using dehumanizing language then this is how it is done.
I won’t given the propagandists on either side credit for knowing what is being said but the judiciary and the medical profession in this country should know different. I assume readers haven’t seen what the term ‘fetus’ represents in its original usage before so now they have .
You are the type of person who is easily led Dave and I suppose I can see why nations are getting upset with social media but others have more of a balance of head and heart and don’t conform . Try being original, creative and productive as an individual in this era and the mob will show up with their peer approved perspectives but most people are cool and don’t need a sermon or a lecture.
@The Risen: The socialists mistake mediocrity for equality which is why they never got much traction in this country for we are a spirited people and mediocrity is the opposite to the way we go about things. Social fairness is a good aim but it has to be balanced with the individual inspirational side of a nation . Nobody is an atheist unless they like living with their own convictions or that of a mob, people who can be inspired or inspiring are spiritual in the true Christian sense with a balance of head and heart.
You use these ‘christian’ triggers all the time so I suppose you are an example of the weakmindedness nations are getting upset over but it is all noise to me. What I do mind is that people are unaccustomed to how willful extermination was introduced in other countries by using dehumanizing language even when that language incorporated mother/developing child as an alternative way to describe being pregnant -
You wouldn’t know how to raise the standard of discussion as you take from the old commie book of stock phrases and slogans. Others can and that is all that matters.
@Gerald Kelleher: tl:dr
@Gerald Kelleher: that’s the longest “no comment” I’ve ever seen. A word is just a word Ger. Truth is they had no laws about abortion and had an amoral attitude towards it. All levels of society in ancient Rome had abortions. Ir was not frowned upon nor celebrated. But yeah, you’re right, they called a pregnant woman a foetus. Your point was what again?
@Dave O Keeffe: Glad you lived in Roman times to know all about it however the etymology of fetus is not a dehumanizing description of an entity separate to the woman but an actual alternative description of a mother with a developing child in the womb otherwise known as pregnancy.
I could understand how the national socialists got untermench/subhuman from ubermensch or indeed the empiricist anthropomorphous apes from white skin people for extermination purposes so now readers know how fetus evolved into a subhuman entity that can be removed rather than extermination of life which it is.
It must be great for the pseudo-intellectuals to make judgments about the unborn , indeed you can describe yourself as undead if you wish to achieve some objective but this issue is flat out self-deception using dehumanizing language.
@Gerald Kelleher: wow, so that’s another total avoidance of the question. You understand that words are just words right? And that when words are around for thousands of years they change in meaning. Can you give me an example of the ancient roman use of the term in a sentence? “glad you lived in ancient times to know all about it” it’s well documented history but your fruit loop, pseudo-intellectual, lead by the tin foil hat, brain wouldn’t have a clue about that. PS you’re still using ‘anthropomorphous’ wrong.
@Dave O Keeffe: have to give you and ‘the risen’ a lot of credit for reading his posts..
I don’t see the issue with advertising being a problem at all. Definitely more on the pro-choice side so the abortion advocates need to turn on the heat is all. Do your research and formulate an educated opinion and vote with your head.
@Daniel Donovan: Balance of head and heart .
Americans: We are outraged Russians used online influence to meddle in our elections
Also Americans: We are going to spend millions meddling in a vote on changing another countries Constitution
Ads are one thing, and the millions of nutters stirring the pot on social media is a different thing altogether.
Great degree of hypocrisy here. This Transparency Referendum group is a pro-abortion Yes front Group that itself being less than candid about its motivations. How is it funded? How can an article like that me written with no reference to the Pro-Abortion lobby group Amnesty Ireland getting over €100k from a US group being told it’s illegal to accept it but still shredding to return the money. This article ignores a clearly identified illegal acceptance of money by the Yes Campaign and is focusing on advertising that it admits is perfectly legal. Media outlets have to stop letting itself be used and exploited in this manner..
The Pro Life Campaign says that it has obtained on average less than €6,300 per year from the US since 2010
Jim Finnegan, – gave $60.000 in 1995 and $75,000 in 2007 to Youth Defense.
The pro choice campaign have been working on this for 30 years. You can buy a lot of influence with that much money, you can load the educational system and the media and the government with key people and change public opinion by flooding the information streams with pro choice ideology. Otherwise known as brainwashing. The pro Choice campaign has received the following from.
Feeney – The Irish Council for Civil Liberties were a tiny group raising less than €9000 a year, but $11.3 million dollars of Feeney’s money transformed them into a major abortion campaigner.
Feeney – gave $5.1 million to Amnesty Ireland who went from having a neutral position on abortion to rolling out an expensive abortion push.
Feeney – gave at least $1.1 million to the National Women’s Council of Ireland
Feeney – also gave at least $236,850 to the Family Planning Association in the North of Ireland.
Feeney – gave Gay and Lesbian Equality Network’s (Glen) at least $4,727,861
A spokesman for Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies has admitted “The total amount of our investments in the Republic of Ireland to date has been upwards of 1.1 billion euros, and this has been in several sectors,including education, health care, aging, children, youth and human rights.” The very sectors that are today campaigning for abortion in Ireland.
Soros – gave €100 million to the self-styled rights organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW), in 2010 – the same year that they started to attack Our 8th Amendment.
Soros – has already provided three pro-abortion groups in Ireland, including Amnesty International’s Irish branch, with a combined total of around $400,000.
Soros – Amnesty International in Ireland received at least $160,000 (€137,000) in funding from the Open Society Foundation
Soros – Abortion Rights Campaign Ireland received at least $25,000.
Soros – gave The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) at least $150,000
Bill Gates and the Ford Foundation – gave the Center for Reproductive Rights, €25 million in 2014 alone. They are funding a legal case before the United Nations in Geneva, accusing Ireland of ‘torture’.
The Irish Family Planning Association uses its taxpayer funded government grants which amounted to millions each year, In 2009 alone IFPA received €1,509,333 from our government to push for abortion in Ireland.
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) gave IFPA
2011: $250.759
2012: $100.760
2013: $110.923
2014: $045.546
The National Women’s Council of Ireland is a taxpayer funded organisation, which has received over €2.7million in public funding since 2011. Its funding increased by some €80,000 annually in the most recent budget, ahead of the referendum campaign. NWCI is at the forefront of the campaign for a YES vote
The repeal campaign has benefited in other ways from public money. Artist Siobhan Clancy with other activist members of the abortion rights campaign have received monies from the Arts Council Artists in the Community Scheme for their production of ”the renounciation”.
Abortion right activist Tara Flynn has also benefited from funding from the Arts Council and Culture Ireland for her Abbey Theater production of ”Not a Funny Word” used to publicize repeal of the 8th Amendment.
@Daithí Ó’Céileachair: The Pro Life Campaign says that it has obtained on average less than €6,300 per year from the US since 2010 – that is comedy gold
H
@Jack:
H ow many do you want?
Dont be swayed by any of these groups,vote the way you feel right
@James Mc Loughlin: this is exactly what i’m doing.
i’m voting to repeal, in the hopes that, should i ever get pregnant, i will have the option to end it, in order to ensure i continue to live a healthy life for as long as possible. this is important to me, as pregnancy could result in a disability that means i require round the clock care for the rest of my life.
in saying that, i also take responsibility to not get pregnant, by abstaining, remaining a virgin at 30, being on birth control, and seeking sterilisation. that might all sound extreme, but i’ve experienced temporary disability of the sort a pregnancy could cause me, and i will do anything to avoid that.
Anyone who would be influenced by anything on Facebook, especially sponsored content after the Cambridge Analytics debacle needs their head examined
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