An archbishop has expressed his deep disappointment that an ‘assisted dying’ bill that failed in Parliament last term will be reintroduced by a Labour MP in the upcoming term.
In a statement, Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, called the proposed legislation “flawed and full of unresolved matters.”
“I am deeply disappointed that the previously unsuccessful Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being reintroduced in the House of Commons. It is likely to be debated in September. The Catholic Church opposes this Bill in principle and joins with many other people of faith and none in arguing that we should not cross this watershed,” Sherrington said.
The bill by Kim Leadbeater, MP, originally passed in the House of Commons by 25 votes in June 2025 but not the House of Lords after over 1200 proposed amendments delayed its progress and it ran out of time.
If MPs pass the legislation again, then there is the chance that supporters of the bill could use the Parliament Act to overcome potential opposition in the House of Lords.
Ireland will double the amount of development aid funding that it gives to the world’s largest provider of abortion, known in particular for pushing abortion on developing countries.
Such work was often condemned by the late Pope Francis as “ideological colonialism”.
In the Dáil last Tuesday, Neale Richmond, Minister of State for International Development, was advocating for the removal of the three day wait before abortion when he revealed that he had addressed an International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) meeting in Dublin the night before, calling it a “distinct honour”.
He also said he was “delighted” to announce that he had signed off on a doubling of funding for the group.
This comes on top of over fifty million euros given to the pro-abortion, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) over a five-year period.
In response, the Pro-Life Campaign said it was “shocking” that so much was spent on abortion while the Government “doesn’t donate a cent to funding positive alternatives”.
“In one breath, he proudly celebrated a major increase in funding for one of the world’s leading pro-abortion organisations; in the next, he supported the dismantling of the life-saving three-day reflection period”.
A Sinn Féin Bill to end the mandatory three-day wait before accessing an abortion has passed an early hurdle in the Dáil by 86 votes to 70.
It now goes to committee stage to be scrutinised in greater detail.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and Ministers Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Jack Chambers and Darragh O’Brien supported the legislation.
Other Ministers including James Lawless, Helen McEntee, Hildegarde Naughton and Patrick O’Donovan were missing for the vote.
In response, the Pro Life Campaign said it was “unconscionable” that so many members of the Oireachtas voted to remove a provision when it has been shown that thousands of women who attended an initial abortion appointment did not proceed to abortion after the three-day waiting period.
Spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said their fight against the proposed change is “far from over”.
“Tonight’s vote only takes the bill to committee stage. It will take a mammoth effort to protect it, but we are ready to face that challenge head on,” she added.
How Your TDs Voted on Sinn Fein Bill to Remove Three-Day Wait
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste’s support for a Sinn Féin bill to abolish the three-day wait before an abortion, has been described as a massive ‘breach of trust’ with voters.
The bill would end the mandatory three day period between an appointment requesting an abortion and going for the procedure—a time which gives a woman ‘breathing space’ to give more consideration to her decision.
Eilís Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign said many people who voted Yes in 2018 following assurances from people like Micheál Martin and Simon Harris that the three-day wait would be an integral part of any new law.
“Their decision today to renege on that assurance – particularly so soon after the referendum – represents a massive breach of trust with voters”.
In the Dail last night, opposition to the proposal was voiced by Aontu’s Peadar Toibin, and by independent deputies Carol Nolan, and Michael and Danny Healy-Rae.
Deputy Toibin pointed to the effectiveness of the 3-day wait in actually saving lives, noting that 10,000 mothers who attended their first abortion meeting did not attend the second. “There are 10,000 children alive today as a result of the three-day wait”.
The Irish Bishops have decried the stark contrast between efforts to save lives during Covid with an apparent indifference to life when it comes to the number of abortions in Ireland.
In statement at the end of their Summer 2026 General Meeting, they note the tragic irony that as society was focussed on saving life, protecting the vulnerable, and making sure that people were not forgotten during the pandemic, it also began “the wholesale destruction of human life through abortion”.
“While COVID-19 cost almost 10,000 lives in Ireland, there have been well over 50,000 deaths from abortion since 2019 (equivalent to nearly 2,000 classrooms of children)”.
They further note the lack of interest in finding out why so many opt for abortion:
“Neither the State, nor the mainstream media, seem to have any interest in exploring what leads women to choose abortion or what happens to them afterwards”.
They also lament that some politicians “seem determined at all costs to widen the scope of the present law”.
Families in the UK are increasingly having only one child as fifty per cent more Gen X women report having just one baby compared with their mothers’ generation. A new Iona Institute report projects that one in four young women in Ireland will never have a child.
Official figures show the proportion of women who have one child rose 49 per cent to 18.5 per cent for women born in 1979, from 12.4 per cent for women born in 1953.
The 1979 year group is the latest “completed family” cohort, meaning they are not expected to have more children.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which released the data last week, indicated the trend would continue — with those born today expected to have even fewer children again.
An ONS report last month showed that the number of babies born in England and Wales had fallen to the lowest level since 1977, because couples are increasingly delaying having children until their thirties.
Anna Adamecz, of the University College London, said that as families delayed having children, intentions for second children began to vanish as “time and fertility run out before the second child arrives”.
Pope Leo XIV has delivered a forceful defense of the dignity of every human life, declaring that its protection is “a goal of civilization”.
In a sweeping 30 minute address to the Spanish parliament, the first ever by a Pope, he touched upon some of the most debated issues in the country and still received a seven-minute standing ovation at the end of his remarks despite Spain having a left-wing Government which is extremely pro-choice. He also spoke up in favour of migrants and of international law and peace.
Calling life a fundamental value, he asked whether “a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?”
“Every human life must be recognised and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence.”
Pope Leo addressed Parliament earlier this week, after holding a private meeting with Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, earlier that morning.
His appeal to respect the unborn comes as Spanish lawmakers led by Sanchez are currently pushing proposed legislation that would enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, much as France did in 2024.
The proposal, advanced by a centrist group led by the former prime minister Gabriel Attal, formed part of a wider response to allegations of historic abuse.
The text said ministers of religion would not be exempt from mandatory reporting obligations, even for information received “in the exercise of their ministry”, and that no appeal to the seal of confession could override this duty.
The French Bishops’ Conference expressed “grave concern”, arguing that the measure would infringe freedom of conscience and religious liberty while failing to address the real causes of abuse.
The seal of confession, codified since the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 and upheld as inviolable under Canon Law, carries automatic excommunication for any priest who violates it. French bishops have repeatedly affirmed their commitment to child protection and co-operation with civil authorities on all matters outside the confessional, while insisting that the sacrament itself remains a privileged space of encounter with divine mercy.
The Italian Senate has voted overwhelmingly to make parental consent necessary for any lessons or projects related to sexuality in Italy’s schools that go beyond core requirements.
Pro Vita & Famiglia, a Catholic lay group, welcomed the measure, saying parents “will be able to learn about, identify and reject in advance inappropriate projects that promote gender fluidity, abortion, surrogate motherhood and an ideological vision of sexuality among minors“.
The Act makes education about respect, relationships, and empathy mandatory in civics classes in all grades of school while science classes will teach the biology of sex.
Moreover, in Italy’s tripartite division of education into elementary, middle and high schools, the latter two (roughly equivalent to ages 11-18) will teach the prevention of risks from sexually transmitted diseases.
Beyond this core education, the new regulations ban any further activities related to sexuality in elementary schools.
Middle and high schools must provide families with at least one week’s notice before any such activities are scheduled to take place, and schools must disclose the identities of any third-party organisations or guest speakers invited to deliver the material.
A majority of young adults say the housing crisis is affecting whether they marry or have children, according to new research by Deloitte.
The study found young people want to build durable foundations before making life-defining moves, and are aligning life choices with realistic conditions rather than ‘traditional timelines’.
It considered both the younger Gen Z (born between 1995 and 2007, and are now 19-31 years of age) and the older Millennials (born between 1983 and 1994 and are 32-43 yrs old).
The study also found that 62pc of Gen Z’s in Ireland said they could not afford to own a home, well above the global average of 51pc.
