The Pro-Life Amendment Campaign (PLAC) was an

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

advocacy organisation established in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1981. It campaigned in favour of the

Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1983 was an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which inserted a subsection recognising the equal right to life of the pregnant woman and the unborn. Abortion had been subject to criminal pen ...

, which was approved by referendum on 7 September 1983 and signed into law on the 7 October of the same year.

Membership

The organisation set up several other organisations: * Congress of Catholic Secondary School Parents' Associations * Irish Catholic Doctors' Guild * Guild of Catholic Nurses * Guild of Catholic Pharmacists * Catholic Young Men's Society * St Thomas More Society * Irish Pro-Life Movement * National Association of the Ovulation Method * Council of Social Concern (COSC) * Irish Responsible Society * Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) * St Joseph’s Young Priests Society * Christian Brothers Schools Parents' Federation They attended a meeting chaired by the leader of the Knights of Saint Columbanus on 21 January 1981. The meeting was called by John O'Reilly, a former Knight of Columbanus who had campaigned against contraception and the Irish Family Planning Association in the 1970s. It was officially launched at a press conference chaired by Dr Julia Vaughan (a gynaecologist and former nun) on 27 April 1981. Elected officers of the organisation were: Julia Vaughan (Irish Catholic Doctors' Guild, chairman), Michael Shortall (Catholic Young Men's Society, secretary), Dennis Barror (Irish Responsible Society, treasurer).

Campaign

Shortly after its launch, PLAC delegations met separately with

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian ...

's Charlie Haughey,

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, a ...

and the Labour Party's

Frank Cluskey Frank Cluskey (8 April 1930 – 7 May 1989) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism from 1982 to 1983, Leader of the Labour Party from 1977 to 1981 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minist ...

. After an acrimonious referendum campaign, the amendment was passed by 67% voting in favour to 33% voting against.

Aftermath

Key members of the campaign went on to establish the Pro Life Campaign in 1992.

References

{{Abortion in the Republic of Ireland Anti-abortion organisations in the Republic of Ireland 1981 establishments in Ireland Organizations established in 1981

Membership

Campaign

Aftermath

See also

References