Redraft the Work-Life Balance Bill
Ireland is erasing women!
victory
Ireland is erasing women!
Update: amendments to the draft Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill were published on 13th October and the word "woman" has been reinstated.
An innocuous-sounding bill, the ‘Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill” is beginning its journey through Ireland’s two legislative houses, which, if it is passed into law, erases all mention of women from maternity laws.
The bill has been designed to bring Ireland into line with the EU Work-life Balance Directive and concerns rights of parents and carers in the workplace. The bill contains specific workplace provisions and protections for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and will, if passed into law, remove all mention of the word ‘woman’ from maternity protection legislation as well as the words ‘she’ and ‘her’ in reference to being female.
The legislation also makes the scientifically inaccurate claim that men can breastfeed and allows for people who claim that they are men, to breastfeed at work. The Irish government appears to believe that they are able to change the laws of nature!
This is not simply a procedural change. The Irish government intends to officially enshrine the idea that men can give birth and breastfeed into the laws of the land and in doing so, deny the unique role played by women.
Laws often play an important part in influencing public opinion. Denying the basic scientific fact that only women can conceive, birth and breastfeed their children puts Ireland’s women in jeopardy. Biological sex is a protected characteristic in the country’s Equalities Act to recognise the innate differences between males and females and the unique role played by women in human reproduction.
Ireland appears to want to strip women of a key part of their identity and deny that motherhood is unique to the female sex. This is all part of an attempt by Ireland’s politicians to further embed gender ideology into the law and constitution without any consultation with the public.
Maternity laws should be there to protect pregnant women - not deny their existence!
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Protect women: Redraft the Work Life Balance bill
I am concerned to learn that all mentions of women and mothers are being erased from new legal provisions concerning rights to maternity leave and breastfeeding.
The approved draft of the new Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill will remove the words ‘woman’, ‘female’, ‘mother’ and ‘girl’ in all of the clauses that relate to maternity protections. The bill also removes the words ‘she’ and ‘her’ in reference to being female and states that men can breastfeed.
This bill is supposed to be inclusive, yet effectively erases 50% of the population.
It is also scientifically inaccurate. Only women have wombs where their children are conceived and nourished and only women have breasts that produce milk to feed their babies. The law must reflect reality and not an minority ideological belief.
Replacing the words ‘women’ and ‘mother’ with ‘person’ is offensive, de-humanising and removes an important part of women’s identity.
It is an outrage that such a radical piece of legislation is being pushed through the Oireachtas without first consulting with the Republic’s women, whom it is supposed to represent and protect.
Please redraft the bill before allowing it to proceed further.
Protect women: Redraft the Work Life Balance bill
I am concerned to learn that all mentions of women and mothers are being erased from new legal provisions concerning rights to maternity leave and breastfeeding.
The approved draft of the new Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill will remove the words ‘woman’, ‘female’, ‘mother’ and ‘girl’ in all of the clauses that relate to maternity protections. The bill also removes the words ‘she’ and ‘her’ in reference to being female and states that men can breastfeed.
This bill is supposed to be inclusive, yet effectively erases 50% of the population.
It is also scientifically inaccurate. Only women have wombs where their children are conceived and nourished and only women have breasts that produce milk to feed their babies. The law must reflect reality and not an minority ideological belief.
Replacing the words ‘women’ and ‘mother’ with ‘person’ is offensive, de-humanising and removes an important part of women’s identity.
It is an outrage that such a radical piece of legislation is being pushed through the Oireachtas without first consulting with the Republic’s women, whom it is supposed to represent and protect.
Please redraft the bill before allowing it to proceed further.
