Pro-life advocates in Ireland are questioning the methods of and the close association between the Catholic Church’s “non-judgmental” pregnancy counseling service CURA, and a government program for pregnant women called Positive Options.
Calling it a simple case of moral relativism, Sylvester Mann wrote that CURA’s use of the “non-directive counseling” technique undermines their commitment to Catholic teaching on abortion. CURA states on its website that it “upholds the right of every child to be born and to have his or her right to life recognised and respected.” But Charlotte Keary of CURA said no CURA counselor would directly attempt to dissuade an abortion-minded woman. She strongly denied there is any conflict between the non-directive counseling model and the strictures of the Church against abortion. CURA volunteer counselors, she said, “do not give abortion information. We don’t give contacts, numbers or set up any appointments” for abortions. Nevertheless, asked whether a CURA counselor would directly try to dissuade a woman from having an abortion, Keary said, “No. We would not say ‘Don’t do it’.”
What is at issue is CURA’s refusal to guide women away from abortion and its use of so-called “non-directive” counseling techniques. He pointed to the pro-life Irish Constitution and to the Regulation of Information Act of 1995 that “specifically directs that abortion-minded women be given pro-life information.” LifeSiteNews
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