Mothers and Fathers Matter
| Motto | Mothers and Fathers Matter |
|---|---|
| Formation | 30 September 2014 |
| Extinction | June 2015 |
| Headquarters | 77 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 |
|
Region served
|
Ireland |
|
Chairperson
|
Ray Kinsella |
| Website | MothersandFathersMatter.ie |
Mothers and Fathers Matter (MFM) was a campaign group in Ireland which was formed in September 2014 to oppose the Children and Family Relationships Bill. MFM also opposed the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015.
Members and spokespeople for MFM included Keith Mills, lawyer Evana Boyle, legal academic Tom Finegan, anti-abortion campaigner Kate Bopp, ecologist Sam Shepard and David Quinn, of the self-styled Iona Institute pressure group. The group was chaired by economist Ray Kinsella.
MFM opposed the enactment of the Children and Family Relationships Bill, which amended family law in Ireland to extend parental rights and responsibilities to non-traditional families, simplified adoption rights for the spouse or civil partner of a biological parent, and for a long-term domestic partner, and also addressed donor-assisted reproduction (sperm donation and egg donation). The group believed the legislation could, in some cases, deprive a child of a mother and father, and turned donor eggs into a commodity.
In February 2015, the group demonstrated outside Dáil Éireann against the Bill, which was approved by the Dáil on 12 March 2015 and signed into law on 6 April 2015. MFM subsequently said it was planning a legal challenge to the act.
MFM launched its campaign against the 2015 Marriage Referendum on 18 April 2015. At its launch, the group were challenged to produce research to back their claims and promised to publish any research in dispute on their website. They failed to do so, and their claims have since been proven false.UNICEF criticised the group for misinterpreting its research data.
On Saturday 25 April 2015, MFM hosted a conference in the Marino Institute of Education with speakers advocating the retention of the current definition of marriage. On Friday 1 May 2015, Keith Mills represented MFM on a debate on the referendum on RTÉ's The Late Late Show.
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