Abstract
Religion has played a significant role in Ireland in the formation of the state and in shaping national identity. It is anchored both institutionally and in the collective memory. Although Catholicism as a source of national identity has been weakened in recent decades, many Irish people retain a sense of pride in the century’s long unifying band of Catholicism. However, the position of the church is today viewed much more critically. With regard to biopolitical topics, it is obvious that the dismissive attitude of the Catholic Church and the pro-lifers had led to an avoidance of a public debate among politicians, journalists, doctors, legal scholars and even economic actors in Ireland. Legal regulations exist for none of the new biotechnologies, not least because the right to a legal, unpunished abortion remains highly contested. The entire debate on biopolitics has taken place in a narrow institutional framework with limited participants and contents. The church operates like an institutional power player and would prefer to limit the discussion rather than to spread it. Neither the legal framework nor the social and ethical effects of the technologies are sufficiently opened up for discussion. The weakness of the political elite, the historical position of the Catholic Church as moral authority and societal power and the divide within the Irish population along a conservative-rural (religious) and modern-urban (secular) fault line are responsible for the lack of public (and political) discussions and the very slow institutionalisation of bioethics.
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Notes
- 1.
First level: Religious arguments (a) refer to religious content, e.g. (quoted or paraphrased) statements from a religious text or a divine commandment of a given religious tradition (content); (b) call upon (quoted or paraphrased) statements of religious authorities or institutions (source) to justify their opinions; (c) are motivated in the sense that their reference to the content/their connection to the content or the concepts of a religion is not coincidental or unintentional (intention of the speaker/conscious use); (d) are motivated in the sense that their reasoning about the content of or ideas about a religion comes from a (internal or external/instrumental) conviction (conviction/motivation); (e) must be recognised, in how they are received by society, as belonging to a religious tradition (conventionality); and (f) must be (recognised and) accepted as statements and reasoning of a religious tradition by the members of that tradition (validity).
- 2.
Second level: The religious content of religious arguments can be defined as (a) purely religious arguments (quotation and paraphrase of “content” and “source”); (b) not clearly religious arguments with facultative components (ad hoc created arguments by single speakers as religious reinterpretation or pseudo-religious use); (c) not religious arguments, which are used in religious context (applicable religious transformation, e.g. natural law); and (d) secularised adaptation/transfer (absorption into general terminology, e.g. human rights).
- 3.
The church and monasteries were already considered by the ninth century to be the protectors and keepers of the Irish culture, identity and civilisation (see the Viking attacks) (Bartlett 2010, Chap. 1).
- 4.
The association of conservative-rural values with the Irish nation also began in the nineteenth century (Connolly 2007).
- 5.
- 6.
Abortion was not a political issue between 1922 and 1959 because the Irish state took over the restrictive British laws. In questions of divorce and contraception, the British laws were too liberal: contraceptives were banned in 1935 and divorce in 1937. The church had made their approval of the new constitution dependent upon these bans. With the exception of a few examples (e.g. the rejection of a welfare programme for mothers and children in 1951), there were no open conflicts between church and state. It was not until the trend towards secularisation began that the Catholic Church had to publicly confront the government. Often the opinion of the public (population) was on the side of the Catholic Church. Surveys showed even in 1990 that the majority of the population considered it appropriate for the Catholic Church to express itself in questions such as that of abortion (81%), euthanasia (77%), non-marital partnerships (71%) and homosexuality (59%). At the same time, surveys show that—with respect to voting—these themes did not carry much weight (O’Halpin 1993, p. 201; Coakley 1993, p. 31; Laver and Marsh 1993, p. 117).
- 7.
Moreover, the majority of the Irish population tended to support a neoliberal individualistic welfare state (Millar 2008).
- 8.
Ireland continues today to have one of the most restrictive laws in the Western world and the right to life of the mother is considered to be at the same level as the right to life of the foetus (Porter 1996).
- 9.
In most cases, the official influence of the church was through parish priests, but it also worked closely together with anti-abortion groups.
- 10.
In the decades following independence, FF was anxious to appear as the more Catholic of the two parties. Until the 1960s, it was then FG, who always placed itself on the side of the Catholic Church. Starting around 1960, deference and clericalism then decreased more quickly in the FG (Nitsche 2012, pp. 27 and 235).
- 11.
Church attendance is highest in the border regions and lowest in Dublin and the east midlands of Ireland. A majority did not consider belief in God to be a criterion for judging a politician’s (dis)qualifications and believed that church dignitaries should not influence government decisions (O’Mahony 2010). Newer statistics show that 84.7% consider themselves part of the Roman Catholic Church, 2.7% Church of Ireland, 2.7% other Christian Churches, 1.1% Islam, 1.7% unspecified and 5.7% not belonging to any religious community. CIA World Factbook: Country Report Ireland 2015. Jürgen Elvert reports that as of 1999 the country was still 91.6% Catholic.
- 12.
For example in 1992, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the ban on information on abortion was in contradiction to the European Convention on Human Rights.
- 13.
- 14.
One exception was Jim Kemmy. He was vilified in a public campaign and voted out in 1982 (Girvin 1992, p. 203).
- 15.
All movements were Catholic either in name or ideology, e.g. the Pro-life Amendment Campaign, Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, Irish Family League, the Council of Social Concern, the Responsible Society and Family Solidarity.
- 16.
Kathryn Conrad shows marked parallels between nationalist discourses on the subject of Ireland (as a nation-state threatened from without and the last bastion of Catholicism) and the language surrounding the threatened foetus (Conrad 2001, p. 157).
- 17.
It was introduced by the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats coalition government and opposed by Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the Green Party and Sinn Féin.
- 18.
Hanafin describes the Irish constitution as deontological and an expression of Thomist models of society as advocated by the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church. Already in the preamble, with its reference to God and divine law, the importance of natural law and its primacy over positive law is shown. This view makes a liberalisation of law, for example in the area of abortion, almost impossible, since the right to life from this point of view is absolute even when it comes into conflict with the autonomy of the individual. Along with the pluralisation of Irish society since the end of the 1970s, the constitutional consensus of the early years disappeared and the constitution was interpreted in the direction of individual rights (which were not in accordance with Catholic teachings). The rights in the constitution are no longer absolute (Hanafin 1996).
- 19.
With respect to IVF, the handbook establishes that every fertilised egg should be used for a normal implantation and should not wilfully be destroyed. It is not made clear when the transfer should be made. The parents are also left free to decide to donate their egg cells if they have definitely decided they no longer wish to implant them.
- 20.
The critique is superficially based on the well-being of the child, which the CAHR recommendations allegedly took too little consideration of. In fact, Iona defends traditional (Catholic) family structures. Among other things, its position is that IVF should only be available to married heterosexual couples (Iona Institute 2008).
- 21.
The Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) is an independent national body, which discusses ethical questions in connection to newer developments in science and medicine. The council has two primary functions: (1) independently advising government and politics and (2) supporting the public debate of bioethical questions.
- 22.
The High Court determined in its ruling on abortion that “unborn” can be equated to an embryo that is implanted in the uterus, or with a foetus. Frozen embryos are therefore not “unborn” in the sense of Article 40.3.3. Ruling of the Chief Justice McGovern 15/11/2006; see The Court Service of Ireland. 2006. M.R. v T.R. [2006] IESC 359. http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/bce24a8184816f1580256ef30048ca50/e5617d292b7b6b268025724800329992?OpenDocument. Accessed 3 October 2015.
- 23.
The Court Service of Ireland. 2009. M.R. v T.R. [2009] IESC 82. http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/597645521f07ac9a80256ef30048ca52/0973cbd1fd5204028025768d003d60f7?OpenDocument. Accessed 3 October 2015.The Court Service of Ireland. 2006. M.R. v T.R. [2006] IESC 359. http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/bce24a8184816f1580256ef30048ca50/e5617d292b7b6b268025724800329992?OpenDocument. Accessed 3 October 2015.
- 24.
The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (1997) was also not ratified by Ireland (Sheikh 2002, p. 33). On the international level, Ireland belongs to those countries who agreed with the 2005 UN declaration on human cloning. The declaration itself is vague in its position and largely “purged” of normative values; it also does not explicitly forbid cloning.
- 25.
Houses of the Oireachtas. 2008. Stem Cell Research (Protection of Human Embryos) Bill. http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/bills28/bills/2008/6008/document1.htm. Accessed 3 October 2015.Houses of the Oireachtas. 2008. Human Body Organs and Human Tissue Bill. http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2008/4308/b3408s.pdf. Accessed 3 October 2015.
- 26.
Opinion polls on embryo research are uncommon and mostly refer generally to human tissue donated for research purposes, but their results show that most citizens have a positive attitude towards genetic research and its future possibilities for healing (70%). At the same time, considerable ethical reservations exist: 42% have the opinion that it is tampering with nature. Highest approval levels were reported for stem cell research using adult human tissue (49%) and for cloning human cells to combat disease (42%). Conversely, disapproval was highest for the development of genetically modified foods (52%) and stem cell research using human embryos (34%). A significant minority, from a quarter to a third, were undecided about each of these issues (Cousins et al. 2005, p. 38).
- 27.
Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Committee for Bioethics, at: http://www.catholicbishops.ie/bioethics. Accessed 24 June 2014. Speech: Irish Times, 8 March 1999, at: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/child-resents-a-parentage-based-on-power-1.160394. Accessed 24 June 2014.
- 28.
In February 2008, a revised version of the paper was re-published (Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2003b).
- 29.
The Right to Life and bodily integrity (p. 3): “Although the right to life finds a particularly strong foundation in Christian faith, it is a right which is acknowledged by people of all faiths and none.”… The Right to an identity of origin: (pp. 4–5): … “It is in the family first and foremost that children discover their identity and their individuality, that they learn respect for themselves and for others. It is in the family that cultural and moral values are learnt. Any procedure which undermines the unity and integrity of the family also damages the fabric of society, because the institution of the family is the foundation on which society is built.”
- 30.
(pp. 3–4): “Once fertilisation is complete, the organism has become a human being. There is nothing else it can be. It continues to develop and grow, of course. But all development or change necessarily involves some continuity; something in which the change takes place. This “something” is the human individual. It has its own genetically unique body. It has its own substantial form, the human soul, which is its first principle of life. It is this principle of life which facilitates and directs the development of the person throughout the lifetime of the organism.” […].
- 31.
The essential meaning of human sexuality: (pp. 5–6): … (p. 6): “The more dominant technology becomes, the more the personalistic dimension of human sexuality tends to be separated from the act of life-giving, and the more easily the creative act of God is obscured.” […].
- 32.
(pp. 13–15): “… Every human individual is a value in himself or herself. As noted above, the practice of multiple embryo replacement involves accepting that the survival rate per embryo is in inverse proportion to the likelihood of achieving pregnancy. In effect, therefore, IVF contributes to an ethos which regards the embryo as a means to an end, rather than as a value in and for itself.” […].
- 33.
The document restates the bishops’ response to the 2005 CAHR Report (Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2006).
- 34.
Archbishop Dermot Clifford statement concerning UCC Board decision regarding research on embryonic stem cells, 28 October 2008. At: https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2008/10/28/archbishop-dermot-clifford-statement-ucc-board-decision-research-embryonic-stem-cells/. Accessed 24 June 2014.
- 35.
Catholic Bishops’ letter to Taoiseach on embryonic stem cell research, Press release of 13th October 2003. A shorter statement was published in 2006. At: https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2003/11/13/catholic-bishops-letter-taoiseach-embryonic-stem-cell-research-public/. Accessed 24 June 2014. The government is called upon to support research with adult stem cells. Research with embryos, by contrast, is the destruction of human life. Bishops expressed concern in advance of an EU Parliament vote on funding research on human embryos, 14 June 2006.
- 36.
Although nationalism today is differentiated into several subgroups (e.g. traditional, liberal, revisionist, neo-traditional), only a small number of nationalists actively favour a secular ideology.
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Weiberg-Salzmann, M. (2020). Moral Politics in Ireland: From Religious Domination to Political Indifference. In: Weiberg-Salzmann, M., Willems, U. (eds) Religion and Biopolitics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14580-4_5
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