Family & Life

Family & Life is a Irish pro-life organisation founded in 1998.

Foundation

Family & Life were founded out of a split with the Irish branch of Human Life International in late 1996 by Peter Scully and David Manly over alleged interfence by its American headquarters.^[1] HLI then sought an injunction in the High Court to seize the offices in Family and Life's headquarters. In the end, the case was settled out of court, the offices were kept and Scully received an undisclosed sum from Human Life International.

Work

According to its website,^[2] Family & Life seeks to establish what it calls a 'Culture of Life'.

The group views itself as supporting projects which promote the sanctity of all human life. Family & Life is also a supporter of the institution of marriage as the basis of family life, upholding a social conservative rather than a social liberal view of society. They say they provide support for pregnant women, although this excludes abortion counselling, and that they help children in vulnerable situations.

Family & Life fundraises direct from supporters in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It says it is not affiliated to any other organisation and does not receive state, organizational or corporate funding or engage in street collections, lotteries or the for-profit sale of goods. It is a registered charity in the UK. The organisation focuses on, and develops educational and research approaches to communicate its mission.

Alignment

Initially, the new organisation, continuing from the stance of HLI, aligned itself with the Youth Defence wing of the pro-life movement in Ireland. However, during the 2002 abortion referendum, it supported the proposals of the Fianna Fáil government against abortion in Ireland.^[3] Youth Defence opposed it, claiming that it did not go far enough in protecting the unborn.

References

1. ↑ http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/three_decades_of_abortion_hasnt_quivered_british_prolifers/
2. ↑ http://www.familyandlife.org/about/about-family-life[]
3. ↑ http://archive.catholicherald.co.uk/article/11th-january-2002/7/irish-bishops[]