Following the shocking majority decision to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution and allow legislation to be passed that will liberalize abortion laws in the country, one British doctor has given his take on the tragic turn of events. Dr. Calum Miller is an Oxford University-educated academic, ethicist and pro-life advocate. He is currently a visiting research scholar at the University of Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, where he is working on research related to the metaphysics of abortion.
How Activists and Media Used Lies and Leftist Talking Points to Dupe Abortion Voters in Ireland
Drawing on his expertise, and in a bid to provide people with the facts ahead of the referendum last Friday, Dr. Miller took to Facebook. His post, which addressed some key points in the abortion debate, has been shared over 1,000 times:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156023898092550&set=a.10150094764222550.282691.513087549&type=3&theater
I remember hearing Miller speak when attending a roundtable abortion debate at Magdalene College, Oxford, a few years back. Flanked by Oxford medical students, I felt out of my depth, but I was profoundly moved by the arguments put forward and deeply saddened by the pro-choice arguments’ blatant disregard for the rights of the unborn. I reached out to Miller for some thoughts on his experience of being a pro-life doctor and asked him for his take on the Irish referendum.
“I wasn’t pro-life until I went to medical school and saw the reality of abortion, seeing the reality of it for the unborn, for the women involved, and learning more about the ethics and embryology in a rigorous academic environment,” Miller told Faithwire. “But what it showed was clear: the unborn are not just ‘clumps of cells’, they are valuable human beings and members of the human community. There is no dispute that what is growing inside the woman is a new, individual human being, with its own body, and its own interests, and its own vulnerability.”
Miller soon realized that, as a Christian and a medical professional, he had a “duty to protect” the most vulnerable and frail members of our society. As a doctor, Miller finds it staggering that, if a parent wants their baby, a huge amount of time and effort is put into caring for this precious child; but if they do not, it is tossed away and “dehumanized” to a low-level “clump of cells.”
Not only does Miller believe that the recent Irish repeal is a “disaster for the unborn, who are undeniably human beings waiting to be born,” but he also offered his view on the impact such a constitutional change will have on the health of women. “The research has shown time and time again that abortion does not help mental health, even when the pregnancy is deeply unwanted,” he said. “The research shows that women who have an unwanted pregnancy are no better off mentally if they have an abortion than if they continue the pregnancy. And yet there is such a persistent lie that abortion will help women and that women will not cope if they continue the pregnancy.”
Miller said that this false narrative is in conflict with the central duty of care every doctor has to their patients.
“As a doctor and a Christian I should be offering support to women to help them look after their child, not telling them the lie that they’ll be better off if they have a termination, and putting them through a potentially traumatic experience for no benefit whatsoever,” Miller told Faithwire.
The newly repealed Eighth Amendment protected both woman and child, something Miller said is absolutely essential in healthcare. “That is the Christian duty: to love both,” he added. “So it is heartbreaking from a medical and a Christian perspective that they no longer have that protection.”
You can watch one of Dr. Miller’s talks on the subject below: