Over 25,000 People Sign Petition Against Plans For National Maternity Hospital

Over 25,000 people have signed a petition against plans to make the Sisters Of Charity sole owners of the new National Maternity Hospital.

The online petition was created following yesterday’s announcement and has garnered strong support from those who oppose the link to the religious organisation, who also ran Magdalene Laundries across the country.

The petition aims to “show the state we will not allow the abuse of our babies, children, and women to be swept under the rug” and demands “a formal apology from Sisters of Charity” alongside a payment towards the redress scheme for victims of the Laundries.

Several people have left comments on the page, outlining their reasons for supporting the campaign.

“I do not trust the Sister’s of Charity with the children and mothers. I think the hospital should be owned and operated by the state. The people should have a say in how it is run.”

“It is utterly unacceptable to hand over a publicly funded facility to a private grouping such as this – unaccountable, complicit in abuse and unapologetic for the profound damage they have inflicted.”

“Healthcare has nothing whatever to do with religion. This hospital as all hospitals is to serve ALL the people with no discrimination on the ground of religion or no religion. The hospital must give all treatments that are legal, and not refuse to give treatments on religious grounds.”

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