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Updated 5.30pm
LABOUR SENATOR IVANA Bacik has been criticised by the pro-life group Youth Defence after she raised concerns about an anti-abortion billboard campaign currently being run.
The billboards are currently visible across the country and are part of a campaign by Youth Defence in conjunction with the Life Institute. They bear slogans such as “Abortion tears her life apart” and “There’s always a better answer”.
Youth Defence accused Bacik of “socialist censorship” but the senator said that she was merely raising concerns about there being no way for people to complain about the ads and added that she was not advocating that they be taken down.
The Advertising Standards Agency of Ireland (ASAI) has said that it is powerless to act on the 70 or so complaints it has received in relation to the nationwide campaign as the ads fall outside their remit.
In the Seanad yesterday Bacik said that she was “loath to give publicity” to Youth Defence but said that she found the advertisements “offensive, misleading and amounting false advertising”.
“The advertisements concern abortion and feature a caption which reads “Abortion tears her life apart”. They depict a foetus at more than 18 weeks, although 89 per cent of abortions take place before 13 weeks. The advertisements are grossly offensive,” she said.
Bacik said there needed to be an expansion of the remit of ASAI to facilitate the consideration of complaints about the type of advertising currently on display but Youth Defence said these comments were an “odious abuse of taxpayer-funded privilege”.
In a statement released last night the group’s spokeswoman said that Bacik is “deluded” if she felt that she could “demand changes which would ban pro-life advertising”.
“Her demands are indicative of the censorial and oppressive abortion mindset which seeks to outlaw dissenting voices and opinions,” said Rebecca Roughneen. “It smacks of the very worst form of outdated socialist censorship”.
Niamh Ui Bhriain of the Life Institute said that “phones have been ringing off the hook for the past three weeks” since the campaign began and added that Bacik needed to “learn that we live in a democracy”.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie this evening, Bacik said that she had written to the ASAI and the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte to seek the establishment of a route for people to complain about the ads.
She said she was not explicitly advocating they be taken down: “I want the normal route that you have to complain about advertising and for this complaint to be taken seriously.”
“My concern is that there doesn’t appear to be any way for people to complain. So I have written to the Minister asking can we establish a route of complaint for individuals about these ads.”
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Ain’t the media great to give these protests wall to wall coverage…
@Derek Durkin: Goddamn media reporting the news, despicable if you ask me.
@Diarmuid Hunt: yeah because that’s how the media works yeah….not too bright are we
@Derek Durkin: I didn’t say they weren’t selective. Nice ad hominem though.
If you choose to chain or glue yourself to objects, you should be left to protest unaided for 24 hours or at least until you toilet yourself.
@Mick Byrne: Do you really give a **** about what you claim to believe in?
@Mick Byrne: You’re only giving them ideas! Dirty protests are not unheard of in this country…
@Mick Byrne: And to ask what toilets do they use or do they tow mobile toilets with them.
Bunch of hypocrites should be all arrested
@Jim O Brien – TechBuzz Ireland: Arrested for protesting? Are you sure about that?
@Shakka1244: they’re breaching the peace so they can be arrested, there is nothing peaceful about pushing through a barricade and chaining yourself to a gate also it’s worth noting that assembly near or at the dail can be controlled or shut down under article 40 of the Constitution. At this stage their numbers are dwindling and they’re getting desperate for media attention, this little stunt just proves it. Sure their little March through Penneys on Mary street completely backfired, there was killings on Twitter because they came across as elitist and snobby.
@Peej: I think you’ll find that many could see that they weren’t elitist or snobby, more highlighting the abhorrent working conditions of the sweatshops used to fund the functioning capitalists who sell such items by mass production, shops like Penney’s capitalize on the detachment of works who are often as young as 12 brought from urban areas to big cities to be exploited for the good of the western consumer, whilst the big chains relish in the reward,.
Get in those lads the council employed . Seemed to work a dream
Arrest them all already. Waste of tax payers money. Right to free protest has long since passed
@Gareth Murran: Are you saying that anyone that protests should be immediately arrested? Since when did we become North Korea?
@Shakka1244: if XR on their manifesto are encouraging civil disobedience and not protests, by its very nature, their intention is to be arrested!! There is a difference between cd and protest.
@Jennifer Hampson: Yep, civil disobedience pretty much guarantees time in custody. It depends on whether enough people think the cause is worth it & if enough do, change will soon follow. Time will tell if they keep it up but if the climate keeps getting worse, it’ll only go one way.
I thought it already was an open house if you were in the know!!!!!!
Ruined a great event for the general public. And now the hippies will wonder why they ain’t getting support? Plant a hemp tree somewhere and smoke it when it finally is big enough.
TD are the one making the issue of carbon with this tax to handle the public deficit . Twenty per cent of that national debt made up of a deal made by a minister with IMF ad EU never laid before the Dail .
When did a minister get authority to treat his deal as law of land without consnet of Dail and Oireachtas ie legislation making deal part of law
and
How can TD vote on estiamte if the Dail has no control over what in kitty to spend whihc it does not until that deal laid beofe it by min?
Commission can serve notice on ireland to reduce that deficit (64.8 per cent in excess of the 60 per cent threshold under the Fiscal Compact Treaty per ntma report at end of 18 with loan of 44 billion from eu and uk ) as an DEBTOR to EU ??
TD complaining about not enuf spend are only putting us into deeper debt and only DAIL can change situation by TD having minister LAY that EU/IMF deal before the dail that will reduce deficit until DAIL approves terms by voting thru legislation making it part of law of state. Term that public spending complies with deficit rule but also public funds will cap bank cos share value fall cos of ECB policit we have no control over.
Minister have to acknowledge a debt cos min signed loan agreement .
But TD seem to want to have cake and eat it want to complain about govt , overspending or underspending but not taking control of the fund but seem to have no problem voting thru these estimate . Think it will carry on until voter tell local TD .. hey why isnt that deal before Dail? We elect U to be responsible for whats in kitty to spend not minister ?
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