Urgent appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.
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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”.

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, after a two-year battle, MPs voted by 286 to 270 to reject the Edwards assisted suicide Bill.

This followed the defeat of the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland by 69 to 57 in March this year.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people over the coming decades.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

A prominent pollster described the campaign against these major attempts to introduce assisted suicide, which brought together people from all walks of life across the UK, as one of the “most successful 21st Century UK social issue campaigns”. You helped make that possible.

WHY WE MUST NOT STOP HERE

What we have achieved together is extraordinary. But we must not rest on our laurels.

Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made clear that it will keep campaigning to legalise assisted suicide. 

We cannot wait until another Bill is brought forward. We need to keep pressing for better care and strengthen the case against legalisation now.

WHAT COMES NEXT

The next phase of our Support Not Suicide campaign will operate across Parliament, media, online and in grassroots communities in every constituency across the United Kingdom.

Our focus now is to build on that momentum from the defeat of these assisted suicide Bills and make these victories last.

We want to build a United Kingdom where assisted suicide is seen as unnecessary – and where legalising it is seen as unthinkable.

The first part of that work is a sustained push for universal access to high-quality palliative, hospice and social care. No one should feel driven towards assisted suicide because they cannot get the care and support they need. 

We have already asked supporters to contact their MPs about improving care. With your help, we will keep that pressure on in every constituency, brief MPs and Peers on gaps in care, and make the case for better provision in the media.

The second part is building on these wins to ensure more MPs and more of the wider public understand the dangers of legalising assisted suicide. We will put evidence of those risks before MPs and Peers. We will work with mainstream journalists to bring the voices of people directly affected, doctors and other experts into the national conversation, and produce clear videos and articles that supporters can share online and in their communities.

Our network of 250,000 supporters covers every constituency in the UK. Thanks to people like you sharing our content, our posts and videos have been viewed more than 100 million times online in the last year. 

We want to utilise that massive reach for this next phase of the campaign.

WE CAN ONLY DO THIS WITH YOUR HELP

The two-year fight to stop these Bills drew heavily on our limited resources.

To replenish those resources and fund the next phase of the Support Not Suicide campaign, we aim to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (4 October 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can today.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in protecting vulnerable lives. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

Will you donate now to help make these victories last and protect vulnerable lives?

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.