In a public opinion poll conducted by Ireland Thinks and paid for by Uplift members, 73% of people favour the state to purchase the land at the new National Maternity Hospital, if the Sisters of Charity refuse to sell it. Even a narrow majority of church-goers agree.
The Government is reported to be close to finalising a deal with the Sisters of Charity and St. Vincent’s Hospital Group to lease land on which the new National Maternity Hospital will be built for 299 years. There’s not a single hospital anywhere in the world built on land owned by a Catholic organisation that allows reproductive healthcare forbidden by universal Catholic teaching.
Dr. Peter Boylan, former Master of the National Maternity Hospital has said that no possible license drawn up by the Government to seek assurances will allow for abortion care, sterilisation and IVF – if they are not narrowly defined.
Hundreds of Uplift members have taken action to locally target Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly by putting a people-powered message in his local newspaper. The full page ad in the Wicklow People urges Donnelly and this Government not to abandon generations of women and pregnant people with a hospital dominated by religious influence.
Uplift members also paid for expert legal research showing there’s nothing standing in the way of a publicly-owned National Maternity Hospital. Public opinion and legal opinion both agree with this, and even more politicians are coming on side, pledging to support public and secular ownership of the hospital, with blanket support from Sinn Féin, Social Democrats and Solidarity-People Before Profit TDs.
Uplift Director Siobhán O’Donoghue, says;
“These compelling results show, without a doubt, that after the shameful legacy of our past when women’s reproductive health was brutally controlled – we want a future where, no matter who you are or where you come from, we have health care that is safe, trustworthy, accessible to everyone, publicly owned and free of religious ethos.”
ENDS
Public opinion poll can be found here: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/8392626/
People-powered message in the Wicklow People can be found here: https://www.uplift.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image-e1645025645833.png (also attached)
Expert legal opinion here: https://www.uplift.ie/summary-of-legal-opinion-on-cpo-options-of-national-maternity-hospital/
Uplift blog on the opinion poll and ad: https://www.uplift.ie/public-opinion-national-maternity-hospital/
Dr. Peter Boylan on Newstalk: All issues around new NMH could be sorted out if the State owned the land
Contact for further details
Uplift staff member, Layla Wade, Campaigner – 01 574 6665 [email protected]
About Uplift
Uplift is a people-powered campaigning community of over 334,000 people in Ireland. Each day thousands of people take small actions together, such as signing petitions or contacting their TDs, to help build a more equal, sustainable and just Ireland.
Uplift website: https://www.uplift.ie/
