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Ireland, man guilty of attempted murder and intentional ending the life of unborn baby at 32 weeks gestation

A man in Dublin has pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his partner and intentionally ending the life of an unborn baby.

In April 2021, Dean Paget attempted to murder his then-partner, Lisa Ward, in Dublin while she was 32 weeks pregnant with their baby. The assault resulted in the death of the baby.

During the criminal proceedings, graphic footage showed Paget repeatedly punching and kicking Ms Ward while she was on the ground.

Paget could be heard shouting “I’ll rip her out of you”, in reference to his unborn baby daughter, as he repeatedly kicked Ms Ward in the abdomen, the court was told. Dr Heidi Okkers, Assistant State Pathologist, presented evidence that the baby likely died by placental abruption caused by the attack.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Ward said all she wanted was “my little girl, Ruby Rose”.

“I’m only 32 and I don’t know how I’m going to face life with the effect this has had on me”, she said.

The assailant has 68 prior convictions for various offences such as drug misuse, theft and criminal damage.

Paget will be sentenced later this month for attempted murder and intentionally ending the life of a foetus.

‘DIY’ abortions make it harder to identify cases of abuse and coercion

In response to a parliamentary question from Carol Nolan TD on Thursday 3 March 2022, the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland claimed that telemedicine abortion (‘DIY’ home abortion) had been a success but also conceded that “meeting the woman in person increases the likelihood of the provider identifying any coercion or domestic abuse”.

When the UK Government was looking at whether to end allowing ‘DIY’ abortions in England, Dr Calum Miller, NHS doctor and research associate at the University of Oxford specialising in abortion policy, urged the Government to “prioritise women’s safety above the interests of abortion providers by shutting the lid on it once and for all”.

Dr Miller argued that since the introduction of ‘DIY’ abortions, which allows abortion to take place entirely outside of a clinical setting, “the evidence has only piled up more and more against it”.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said “Cases such as Ms Ward’s highlight the need for safeguards to protect the lives of the mother and child. ‘DIY’ abortions remove important safeguards, leaving mothers vulnerable to abuse and coercion”.

Dear reader,

You may be surprised to learn that our 24-week abortion time limit is out of line with the majority of European Union countries, where the most common time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds is 12 weeks gestation.

The latest guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks. The latest research indicates that a significant number of babies born at 22 weeks gestation can survive outside the womb, and this number increases with proactive perinatal care.

This leaves a real contradiction in British law. In one room of a hospital, doctors could be working to save a baby born alive at 23 weeks whilst, in another room of that same hospital, a doctor could perform an abortion that would end the life of a baby at the same age.

The majority of the British population support reducing the time limit. Polling has shown that 70% of British women favour a reduction in the time limit from 24 weeks to 20 weeks or below.

Please click the button below to sign the petition to the Prime Minister, asking him to do everything in his power to reduce the abortion time limit.