Tea at Trianon: Irish Nurses Unite

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Irish Nurses Unite

From Life Site:

A group of healthcare providers in Ireland are banding together to protest legislation that would force them to violate their consciences in the country’s new abortion regime. Calling themselves Nurses & Midwives 4Life Ireland, the group is speaking out against the pending abortion legalization bill, which will implement the country’s May referendum repealing the Emerald Isle’s constitutional protection for pre-born babies. They object to the legislation forcing pro-life medical professionals to refer patients to physicians willing to commit abortions. The group is calling on Health Minister Simon Harris to meet with nurses and midwives to hear their concerns before passing the bill, and to support amendments protecting medical workers’ conscience rights. As of Wednesday, they say they have gathered 420 signatures from registered nurses and midwives.

“We respect and defend the dignity of every stage of human life and we have a responsibility to make every valid or reasonable effort to protect the life and health of pregnant women and their unborn babies,” the petition reads. “For us as nurses and midwives participation in termination of pregnancy defined in relation to a pregnant woman, as a medical procedure which is intended to end the life of a foetus, is morally objectionable and conflicts with our conscientious commitment to life.”

“We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis in the Health Service,” it says, “and as yet there has been no effort made by you as Minister for Health to consult the nursing or midwifery professions on the clinical implications of this bill.”

“To date, there has been minimal consultation in relation to the impact this legislation will have,” noted clinical pediatric nurse specialist Fiona McHugh, according to the Irish Examiner. The group also says it has repeatedly tried in vain to reach out to Harris. (Read more.)