In what has been deemed a “blasphemous” and offensive new campaign, abortion advocates in Ireland have been using the hashtag #AdventforChoice to urge the repeal of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution that protects unborn human life.

The abortion lobby group Parents4Choice has launched a four-week Advent campaign to coincide with the Christian time of preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. The Christian holy season of Advent begins on a Sunday and comprises the four Sundays and weeks leading up to December 25.

The group seeks to gain followers to support the repeal of the 8th amendment, which was adopted by popular vote on Oct. 7, 1983. A referendum challenging the amendment will be held next summer.

The Irish Constitution currently reads: “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”

“Today, on the 1st December, we begin our Advent for Choice Calendar,” the group announced on social media. “Here you will meet some of the wonderful pro-choice parents that make up Parents for Choice in Pregnancy and Childbirth. We will be sharing a photo every day for the next 24 days, along with a few words about our journeys and why we are pro-choice. Keep an eye out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and please share!”

The message received a flurry of reactions, many from indignant commenters who were appalled at the association of abortion with the Christian season of Advent.

Shortly after Christmas, on December 28, Christians commemorate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the children that were reportedly slaughtered by King Herod who sought to do away with the newborn Christ child.

In his 2014 Christmas message, Pope Francis drew a comparison between King Herod’s hunt for the Baby Jesus to speak of abused and massacred children, starting with those killed by abortion.

“Baby Jesus, my thoughts go to all children who are killed and abused today,” Francis said, first among these are the children destroyed “before they ever see the light of day, deprived of the generous love of their parents and buried in the selfishness of a culture that does not love life.”

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