I want to propose a toast, and it died in the committee

It is probably going to happen, when Keith Richards becomes the pope, when abortion is going to be legalised-legalised in Ireland. After the sad, and misfortunate death of Savita Halappanavar last year, a wide pro-abortion movement got it's momentum. What was the sad part of this act was, as the pregnant Halappanavar was dying in pain, the existence of three doctors around her bed using their fingers to explain how this 'country is catholic', and that they cannot do a life-saving surgery, because that would be an abortion. And the doctors were even sure that, there wouldn't be a baby coming out alive anyways, but just in case, that the pope would disagree, they decided to deny all their goodwill and surgical knowledge on a basis of being afraid of getting sued. That's doctor-ish approved not.

But the legislation is going forward. After the tragic death of Halappanavar, the whole country woke up, and there were promises that there will be a draft by new year's day, and the vote would take place before the May.

There was a strong, unified sense of a need for legislation change, for a while. Now, the ministers just had a 6-hour meeting, and their progress was basically, that the bill changed it's name from "The Protection of Maternal Life Bill" to "The Bill for the Protection of Life During pregnancy". When you see that kind of determination in politics, you can bet your sweet uterus against the survival of unicorns with hundred-to-one, and you will win anyways, and always.

There is also a debate of how many doctors do you need to have, to make that judgment call. They are not sure, if three doctors and two psychiatrists, or 6 doctors,  is needed for unanimous vote, because last time it only took three doctors to deny the abortion.

Of course, there is also the Iona Institute, and the like, which are more than afraid, that if there will be an abortion law, it will soon become a law basically allowing service by request. Not that anyone would be interested in the self-governance of one's own body.

This to say, I'm still on the first page of The Irish Times. There might be other faults in the world, and we'll be back right after these videos. And then there's Tom with the weather.