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IN 2010, A TOTAL of 4,402 women travelled from Ireland to Britain for abortion – 12 women every day.
Since abortion was legalised in Britain in 1967, more than 140,000 Irish women have had abortions abroad. Irish law on abortion is the most restrictive in Europe. Abortion is a criminal offence under 1861 legislation, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
In 1983, our Constitution was amended to make the right to life of ‘the unborn’ equal to that of ‘the mother’. This made our law even more restrictive; a pregnancy may only be terminated legally in order to save the life of the pregnant woman. There is no right to abortion in any other circumstance; even where a woman or girl has been raped or abused, or is carrying a non-viable foetus.
Despite this highly repressive law, abortion is a reality in Ireland. Yet the cultural taboo on speaking out about crisis pregnancy has been strengthened by the intimidatory tactics of the anti-choice campaigners. Abortion represents their last line of defence, since contraception and divorce were legalised in the 1990s. These conservative lobbyists have brought disproportionate influence to bear on fearful politicians.
Following the 1983 Amendment, anti-abortion groups took a series of court cases which closed down women’s counselling centres, depriving women of the right to receive information on how to obtain abortion abroad. Students’ unions became the only organisations willing to provide such information.
We were threatened with prison for giving information
As President of Trinity Students’ Union in 1989-90, I carried out Union policy by giving information on abortion to women with crisis pregnancies. As a result we were threatened with prison by SPUC (the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child). Our case helped to bring about legal change, but the 1992 X case was the most important legal development. This arose when a-14 year-old pregnant rape victim tried to travel to England with her parents to terminate her pregnancy. The State sought to prevent her travelling abroad, and in the public outcry that followed, the Supreme Court ruled that because X was suicidal, the pregnancy posed a real and substantial risk to her life, so her pregnancy could lawfully be terminated.
As a result of the X case, two further amendments to the Constitution were passed in November 1992. The first allowed freedom to provide information on abortion – the issue in our legal case. The second allowed the right to travel for women seeking abortions. The Government also proposed a third referendum, seeking to overturn the X case by ruling out suicide risk as a ground for abortion, but thankfully this was defeated. In 2002, after pressure from anti-abortion groups, another referendum tried to rule out suicide risk as a ground for abortion – but again this was thankfully defeated.
Opinion polls show that support for legal abortion has increased significantly
In December 2010, the European Court of Human Rights gave judgment in a case taken by three women, A, B and C, against Ireland, claiming that their human rights were breached because they were forced to travel abroad for abortions. The European court ruled that the law breached the rights of one woman, C, a cancer patient whose pregnancy posed a serious risk to her health. The Government has now said it will set up an expert group to recommend how best to implement the ABC judgment.
In fact, legislation to clarify the law for women like C by providing for life-saving abortions is long overdue. Opinion polls show that support for legal abortion has increased significantly in recent years. As Irish society has changed and liberalised, most people have become more accepting of the need to legalise abortion.
It is the time to challenge the culture of silence and hypocrisy; the Government must confront the reality of crisis in Ireland and legislate to meet the real health needs of Irish women.
Ivana Bacik is a Labour senator and Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin.
Meanwhile, the crew at The Line Ireland have taken to the streets to record the diverse range of opinion on whether abortion should be legalised in Ireland:
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never will the youth vote be more important. you can be sure the church will mobilise every rosary bead clutching old biddy in the country to vote against it. as a male i would be quite happy if any referendum was restricted to females of child bearing age only. voting on a what a woman can or cant do with her body frankly seems a bit taliban-esque to me.
Its not only the womans baby,
Well said Movie Waffle. This is a woman’s decision. I know what way I’d vote but as a bloke it’s not really relevant. By banning men from the vote would eliminate priests et al and restricting it to woman of child bearing age will cut out nuns – 2 sections of society who are not qualified to have an opinion on this subject. Would immaculate conception be grounds for a termination!?
But it is only the woman’s body
I am strongly pro-choice, but I’m too pro-democracy to agree with the above, even though I’d get to vote and would be more likely to see the result I want.
I completely disagree with Movie Waffle. To me it seems feminists are seeking to replace an unequal society with an unequal society, just weighted the other way. Aoife sums it up perfectly when she says that she’s pro choice but pro democracy. We live in a society, so everyone should have a say. I also find idiotic the comment that priests and nuns wouldn’t be able to vote if the referendum was limited to women of child bearing age. They’d make up such a small % of the voters it wouldn’t make a difference. Would women of child bearing age unable to have children be included as a matter of interest? Surely not! As for the assumption that the youth will vote yes to abortion, i wouldn’t be so sure. Many of my friends in their early 20s have surprised me by being anti abortion. These are people who aren’t religious at all now, despite some being raised Catholic or CofI. These people are pro gay marriage and divorce, just not abortion. Many have even made the point that adoption is forgotten about as the Third Choice. Religion is too often used as a smokescreen by the pro choice groups but for many including me that has nothing to do with it.Also i assume thejournal’s editor has offered pro life groups a chance to respond to Senator Bacik? Afterall i assume balance is sought here.
“Do with her body”? Since when does a part of one’s body has a different DNA than the rest of it? Besides, even if it were the case, there are many things that one legally cannot do with his or her body, e.g. make it work more than the restricted hours; sell a part of it; submitt it to some drugs; etc.
I totally 100% agree with Ivana here- it’s a disgrace that we abandon the women of this country when they need help most.
I firmly believe that the number getting terminations is far higher than that statistic as that’s only for women who give Irish addresses.
The abortions are happening anyway- why make it so expensive and difficult and dangerous for women’s health by making them travel to the UK?
I think people are ready to face up to reality- bring on a referendum.
Elaine i think we have already decided that we don’t want abortion by means of a referendum , another one will just produce the same result , we have constantly debating this issue for decades , and still we voted against it. You then say its difficult and dangerous for womens health to travel to the UK for an abortion , i cannot fathom a more ridiculous excuse for terminating a pregnancy , don’t women walk , drive ,eat ,sleep,fly ,lift children ,go to work ,cycle, swim have sex do anything while pregnant other than stand still for 9 months, the abortions are happening anyway so its ok .
I think we should be having a debate on why women still get pregnant without a thought or care as a result of not using contraception or using it incorrectly or saying no.
The pill,condoms and IUD’s and restraint are readily available yet men and women have sex like there is no consequence. If you are not wanting children use contraception , restraint or some other form of sex.
Yeah Anthony – it’s really inconsiderate of the woman not to have thought about contraception while she was being raped.
@Anthony That’s not entirely true. I’e never had an opportunity to vote on an abortion referendum, like many others, due to age.
Hopefully Leigh you will be given the choice in a referendum ,although if the outcome is not in favor of the pro lobby the debate will go on endlessly .
@ Brian women do sadly get raped as do men , but not all unwanted pregnancies are caused by rape, they are mainly caused by careless use of contraception , or not enough contraception , education around contraception is decades old i have seen your long winded comments before on the journal , rather than deal with abortion as an every day issue of ignorance and careless sexual acts you react in the extreme alarmist fashion as is the way with leftists.
@ Anthony, as Brian mentioned, there are incidences of rape that result in pregnancy, do you think a woman in this situation should have to carry this pregnancy to term?
Anyway, no contraception is 100% water-tight, what about responsible, mature adults who do not want any more kids, but was unfortunate enough to have their contraception fail?
Anyway, my two cents; legal access to abortion in this country is long overdue. The reality is that women are availing of abortion abroad anyway.
@Anthony – I’m in two minds over abortion. Personally I don’t feel qualified enough to comment. However, your comment “I think we should be having a debate on why women still get pregnant without a thought or care as a result of not using contraception or using it incorrectly or saying no” ignores the cases where women are raped. This was not their choice. They could not have used contraception to prevent an unwanted pregnancy in this circumstance. Why did you not reference that point? You chose instead to ignore it and tackle it if, and only if, it was brought to your attention. Many on the right-wing simply ignore these cases. You state my point was made in the “extreme alarmist fashion as is the way with leftists.” I could counter in that your original comment could be construed as one made in an extremely ignorant fashion as is the way with the right-wing.
@Brian: i don’t think Anthony meant rape victims in his original post. He meant those who fail to use contraception. Most abortions are a result of consensual sex and are carried out on women who’s life is not in danger.
And as I stated I do not feel qualified to discuss such instances. However, I felt compelled to comment because too often those who condemn abortion outright all too often ignore the plight of rape victims. What he wrote originally simply smacked of another one of those right-wing opinions. A topic such as this should cover all grounds and all situations. You simply can not pick and choose. I simply highlighted a very large area he ignored; whether or not that was on purpose I can not say.
Sorry if i ignored the plight of rape victims Brian , rape is a hateful crime but the victims of rape have far more help and recourse to justice than an unborn child . I am not opposed abortion in cases involving rape , incest and any other hurtful acts , i am not opposed to abortion where the life of the mother is threatened by the pregnancy as long as this has been verified and doubly checked by impartial medical staff.However i am opposed to abortion on demand because someone has been careless and stupid , life for me is about taking personal responsibility , hopping into the clinic to terminate a pregnancy because two people couldn’t show some sense and take personal responsibility for their sexual act saddens me. I know this happens because i lived in the UK where abortion is a business , i have personal experience of abortion and its aftermath, let me tell you it is damage as bad as it can be if not thought through.
used my wifes face book by accident brian.
Irish women have abortions. They travel in thousands to the UK every year. They are exported to another country for health services that they should be able to receive here. If you personally don’t agree with abortion, then don’t have one. It’s not your place to enforce that view on the rest of us.
spot on linda
The best way to manage abortion is to educate around it- outlawing it only makes a monster out of it.
Ireland is about 30 years behind the rest of the world in this issue. I beleive a woman has the right to choose and a right to have a termination (if she chooses) in a safe medical setting. she shouldn’t have to get on a boat or plane. this issue needs to be debated, not ignored, as it has been for the last 15 years. we need action not procrastination.
I live in Denmark where abortion has been freely available for some time and is solely the woman’s decision which is fair enough. If the woman decides not to have an abortion then the man myst pay maintenance for the child and this is where I see a problem. If it is solely a womans right to choose and she refuses an abortion while the man is in favour of it then surely it is just as fair that the man should not have to pay maintenance?
Yep. If a woman wants an abortion it’s entirely her decision and the man has no say.
If the woman wants to keep the baby again the man has no say yet has a responsibility under the law.
Seems one sided. Either the man should have a say + responsibility or not. #devilsadvocate
i have said it before here on this subject.i would never have an obortion,because i think its wrong but who am i to tell another woman what to do with her body? bring it in and use the service if you want,dont use it if you dont want.simple.but as i also said there maybe such thing as an unwanted pregnancy but never such thing as an unwanted child
I’d have the same view. I’d be pro-choice but not exactly pro-abortion.
Recently I have seen the anti abortion fundamentalists on street corners with their graphic placards . They are blindly unwilling to consider the situation where women are raped, underage, have serious medical situations for themselves or the fetus, or any other of the many other real reasons women seek abortion. Do they think that women arent intelligent enough to weight up the matter and balance this very difficult desision in a sane and rational manner? They remind me of the right wing fundamentalists currently rising up against Planned Parenthood in the US who seem to think no one gets pregnant or has sex outside of marriage, and people NEVER need abortions.
It comes down to this: we still dont trust women to make decisions about their own bodies. If you are against abortion, then dont get one but dont force your beliefs on the rest of society.
women are making the choice and have been for years so isnt it time we accepted reality in this country.
Let’s also have a referendum on banning alcohol but restrict the vote to drinkers and alcoholics only.
Having a child isn’t the same as getting off your tits on fat frogs.
@Sean, anybody can drink if they want….I’m assuming you and the other men of Ireland are physically incapable of becoming pregnant.
The issue isn’t whether abortion is right or wrong, or should be encouraged or condemned. The article simply notes that abortion continues to be a fact for Irish women, and that the current hypocritical system of essentially exporting abortion needs to be addressed. Reintroducing the whole ‘when does the foetus…’ rigmarole is a distraction – nothing will prevent Irish women from having abortions, so all those points are moot. The question is why we as as state continue to insist that they the procedure be performed across the water.
This is a good point, and you’re correct of course on what the point of the article is.
But, the question of whether access to something in another jurisdiction is sufficient reason to legalise it here isn’t entirely straightforward. Euthenasia in Switzerland, Cannabis in the Netherlands etc.
Shouldn’t any decision to legalise be made on the merits of the argument itself?
Maybe not Joopface, but cannabis and euthanasia have many of their own merits, so I feel your argument falls a bit flat on those points…maybe you should have mentioned the delusional moral superiority of highly religious countries instead…oh no wait we live in Ireland don’t we, sure we already have that here because the Vatican state says that we should live by their morals!!!!!!!
Because that’s what the majority voted! This is democracy, like it or not. 51 people telling 49 what to do!
@Gordon There is a whole generation of people who have never had the chance to vote on Abortion legislation due to age. Myself included. We live in a different Ireland and like it or not, abortion is a real issue in Ireland today and ignoring it won’t make it go away any longer. If you’re so sure that the vote will go the same way, what’s the harm in trying again?
But if a couple are having a baby, woman decides she wants abortion, man says no it’s my child too?
Where there’s danger to life yes, but where there’s no danger. Complicated
Would the author, or some other commentator, please be so good as to confirm when the foetus becomes ‘alive’. I ask this because when one looks anatomically at a foetus at 12 weeks one sees a moving human-like object with a beating heart. If brain activity is the measure of life, the 12 week old foetus has it. If ability to survive without being connected to the mother is the measure (crazy and all as that would be), then we must surely terminate all those in hospitals and homes being ventilated and fed via PEG or intravenously.
This is never a religious issue. I repeat, this has nothing whatsoever to do with religion, the Catholic Church, SPUC, or whoever. It is the ultimate in protection of society’s most vulnerable. If we are not sure when life begins, common sense would indicate that we err on the side of caution and assume life until proven otherwise.
Biological ignorance, selective associations with other countries’ policies (we should do something because others do?!) and choosing to end a life for convenience is what makes us a repressive society. Being liberal enough to see that a foetus may and probably must be alive would free us from this repression.
However, this is too inconvenient for today’s a-la-carte-quasi-liberals.
I agree with this. It’s all too easy to make the case that the people who are less enthusiastic about legalising abortion are living in the past, are out of touch, or are religious nuts. I am none of these three things, but I wouldn’t put myself in the ‘pro abortion’/'pro choice’ camp at all. Neither am I in the ‘no abortions ever’ position.
I think this is a much more nuanced moral situation than many people on either side of the debate allow in their comments. Firstly, it is not just the woman’s body – it is also the child (or the ‘potential child’) of both parents. Whether you agree the father should have a say or not is immaterial to the fact that there is plainly a debate to be had there. As a man, I strongly feel that the father should not be automatically disqualified from having his opinion heard. And obviously, the woman would actually need to carry and deliver the child, her view is of the utmost importance.
Cases where the mother’s life or health are endangered are a seperate discussion from the broad stroke ‘legalise it’ position. I think there are many more people who would be in favour of abortion in those circumstances. And – and this is an important point – would be in favour of a conservative definition of what ‘endangered’ means – that is, err on the side of caution for the mother, let the doctor decide, keep it out of the courts.
Comments like “we’re 30 years behind the rest of the world” add nothing to the debate. Just because other countries take a position doesn’t make that position the correct one.
Comments like “it’s a little ludicrous that we allow people to take a 1 hour flight to the UK for a legal abortion, but don’t allow a legal abortion in the same circumstances in Ireland” have a little more pragmatic weight, in my opinion.
But, the handwringing about people who have concerns about legalising abortion being ‘holy Joes’ or a “rosary bead holding Biddy’ is just disrespectful – to the person taking the position, and to the debate itself.
I used to be pro choice until I had children of my own. Now I am pro life. It’s a hard one to try and control. There are cases where you can understand why abortion is needed, danger to the mother etc. But why not have the baby and let some unfortunate family that have been trying for years to adopt and raise it. The child needs a voice. Once that heart beats, there is life. It’s not just the woman’s decision. I cannot imagine being without my children and to think about getting rid of a feotus after seeing what it becomes is just horrific. Woman’s body? Sure they just grow for nine months, have it and then give it up for adoption, the right to life. If abortion is legalised here I believe it would be too easy an option to just go and do it. it would become contraception almost. The attitude here would be, sure I’ll just have an abortion. Sorry if this offends anyone. I won’t enfore my beliefts on anybody. This is just how I feel.
I appreciate your view point Michelle, but its a bit like saying that increased availability of contraception will make everyone have sex! Women are intelligent and human enough to weigh up the options and not take such a massive life decision lightly and without serious thought. Availability of abortion wont suddenly turn women into persons who view it lightly and just opt for a termination willy nilly. It is never an easy option, everyones case is different and its a bit dehumanising to say that all women have to do is be pregant for 9mts and give the baby up for adoption, 9 months of preganancy and birth are not exactly minor.
I do support your point of not enforcing your beliefs on anyone – thats the problem in Ireland; we are terrified of giving women control and choices!
Ireland as usual buries its head in the sand when it comes to women’s issues such as abortion. It is high time this government grew balls and legislated. If U don’t agree with abortion, then don’t have one. But if U find yourself with a crisis pregnancy and want an abortion, the law should be there to respect Ur wishes, instead of shipping women off to foreign lands with the “out of sight, out of mind mentality”…… This is a real human rights issue, more to the point “women’s rights” issue!!! As my mother often said “if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament” and she is now 80 yrs of age……. Women in Ireland should have the choice to have an abortion or not, but it should be a choice they can make, instead of being made to feel like a criminal on top of all the trauma of finding themselves with a crisis pregnancy in the first place!!
Whether you take the starting point as 1992, 2002 or 2010, every Irish government is wilfully ignoring the Constitution – as it has been interpreted. Regardless of the particular issue, that is an absolute disgrace. A government cannot be allowed to have an a la carte approach to the Bunreacht. Change it or enforce it, but don’t abandon it.
I myself think abortion should be legalized. Not just for those people who simply made a mistake.. why should they pay the price for being naive as well as those who have health reason, or simply cant cope mentally, physically or financially and/or even those who find out from scans there child will die eventually or it deformed etc in some way . It is still a taboo in our society and it really should not be, its normal in others country’s that have it legalized and it does help people to learn and be safer not to put them selves in that situation. Even in school the subject of abortion is brushed over and if you where to ask about it , your quickly moved on to another topic. If people new how abortion worked and why it is done then Maybe … People would understand the consequences of getting pregnant at any stage in there life..
@Sean O’Riain ……and if the vote is tied we can have a second Lisbonesque situation where the publicans have the final decision
People should be given a choice of whether to keep or dispose… They are not all black and White cases.. Victims of rape, mental problems, social problems etc etc…. Are only a few reasons why people go abroad.. Our country is abandoning it’s people by not giving an option..
“if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament” – that statement just made my day!- Im getting a t-shirt done up!
My opinion is that if you don’t agree with abortion then don’t have one. It’s the woman’s choice whether to go through it or not. All those religious freaks should piss off trying to rub everyone’s lives!!
Does a teenage girl have a choice if her parents tell her to do it? Very difficult for her to go against them, where would be her emotional or economic support, and anyway, people trust their parents.
Excellent article. As many commentators have noted, it’s utterly hypocritical to export our problems. As a state, we need to accept reality & respond to this issue with maturity & compassion.
The first time I gave serious thought to the issue was when I attended a debate in college.
The pro-choice speaker was a woman who had three abortions because she & her partner had casual sex and didn’t want to use contraceptives. I found this casual attitude utterly disgusting. I KNOW this is not the norm but it did influence me then and 15 years later, with 2 young children of my own, my attitude hasn’t changed.
I can understand why a woman feels it should be her decision alone, in fairness she does all the work, but have to ask does the unborn child have no rights at all and is it fair that the father has absolutely no say in the matter?
Another issue people never want to talk about is the issue of **personal responsibility**. Does it even exist?
I think the pro-abortion vote will win regardless if any “exclusions” are considered. Exclusions wont happen anyway as Ireland is a democratic society and a referendum cannot be held where people who are legally entitled to vote on other issues are passed over because they might swing the vote the wrong way.
In 2002, there was a narrow victory against tightening the existing laws so that if a woman was contemplating suicide as a result of pregnancy, she would be denied the right to abortion.
50.42% voted no to any change and 49.58% (unbelievably) voted to make it more difficult.
The divide between the two camps will be more significant now as a lot of the old school are no longer with us.
I do think it’s important to have a clearly worded vote however. i.e. Are you in favour of abortion. Yes/no.
Ok- maybe not that stark but you get the idea!
Referendums which are worded using double negatives (like the last abortion one) can be misconstrued leading to an inaccurate poll.
please stop using the phrase “pro-abortion”, it’s not about making it compulsary
In the wake of revelations of what happened in the diocese of Cloyne, the whole country is, rightly, calling out for children to be protected. Ivana Bacik and her ilk are calling for abortion to be legalised in Ireland. Can anyone else see the irony here? Mary O’Byrne, Galway.
I feel like I disagree with almost all the comments or to put it another way I find myself agreeing with a little bit -but not completely – with each and every comment.
However, I have to completely disagree that a pregnancy is somehow just an extension of a women’s body. It is not, or at least over time the foetus becomes more and more a human baby that just happens to still be inside the womb. To say that there should be a choice without restriction is crazy. We don’t live in a country where people believe that you can do whatever you like to other people and so an expecting mother should not be allowed to choose to have her unborn child killed whenever she likes.
I really think the government should implement the constitution as it stands: i.e. we should legislate for abortions and in the cases where an abortion is legal in Ireland there should be clear guidelines and where a mother requests such an abortion (after been given the options available) she should be allowed to have the abortion preformed in Ireland so that she is not in a strange place without her family supports etc. and all the compounding of the inevitable psychological problems that isolation and loneliness cause. In addition, as a country, we have a responsibility to provide abortions in a quick, accessible manner in the cases where our legislation says it is legal. Women in these circumstances should not have to find themselves battling through placards of pictures of cut up babies or searching for a doctor when they are already going through traumatic circumstances.
I am almost sure that well over 99% of us would consider killing a newly born child murder and would consider killing the child 5 minutes before birth murder too so there really should be clear guidelines and legislation so that in the case that an abortion is legal in Ireland and is requested then it should be carried out as quickly as possible and not at 6 months after conception.
In addition education of teenagers about the facts of life and abortion has to improve. We have had an ignore it and they will figure it out for themselves attitude to sex in Ireland, just like we have had an ignore it and it-will-be-taken-care-of-in-England attitude to abortion. By chance this attitude sometimes works but it can often end up in a range of undesirable outcomes and for the most part these situations could be avoided if we had a sexually mature (educated) society.
@ Robert: Thanks for your thoughtful and honest post. On your point about swift access to abortions in legally defined circumstances, the proposal falls down on potential “borderline” cases. For example, if a woman’s physical or mental health would be impaired somewhat, but not severely, by carrying a pregnancy to term. And in terms of when a foetus becomes a baby, most jurisdictions where abortion is legal restricts the procedure to the first trimester of pregnancy i.e. up to 3 months, except in specified circumstances. While most people would indeed agree that deliberately killing a new-born baby is murder, that is exactly the form that “abortion” has taken in Ireland in the past. My great-grandmother used to say there was a baby buried in every back garden in Ireland. The problem with Ireland’s law is that it over-complicates, focusing on listing criminal offences rather than legally protecting people’s rights.
On other points about previous referenda in Ireland, I remember the ballot papers in 1992 were labelled “Right to Information”, “Right to Travel”, and “Right to Life”. If this isn’t weighted language, I don’t know what is.
who wants to listen to ivana bacik she has gone b4 tho people on mort times for election and the people said no even mr quinn tried hard to get her elected the people said no. now she is insa post that most people want done away with that is what f gail said b4 the election well get on with it an lets get rid of the hanger ons like ms bacik anall the rest
I agree with Mary pro choice is more important!who do these people think they are trying to force their views on other people…
Does a teenager have a choice when her parents are telling her to do an abortion? Have you never heard of rilroaded abortion, or the suicide rate afterwards?
Ireland has the best maternal healthcare in the world (the World Health Organisation says so). We don’t need abortion on medical grounds. Pregnant mothers should be given all possible support in their pregnancy rather than being forced into a procedure which is dangerous to their mental and physical well-being. It also ends the life of a baby.
Ireland has pretty shit health care, it is really shit
Joopface has articulated my opinions on this very well indeed. Labelling those who don’t automatically subscribe to the pro-choice point of view as bible bashers, or old-fashioned doesn’t actually contribute anything to the debate, but then, ad hominem attacks never do. The fact that we export our abortion problem is a serious societal ill, and an indictment of social policy-making failure at the highest levels.
There are several issues, including abortion, nuclear power, and military neutrality, where, officially, we display a sanctimonious, holier-than-thou attitude of “oh we won’t have any of that here”. Yet, we import nuclear-generated power from the UK, export our abortion problem to the UK, and if we were ever attacked by a foreign aggressor, who’d come to our rescue? You guessed it – the UK.
Unfortunately, abortion is one of those issues where the reasonable, nuanced arguments are drowned out by the extreme anti-abortion activists with their placards showing pictures of aborted foetuses and slogans which I totally disagree with, and the shrill voice of dogmatic Irish feminism/ liberalism which seeks to impose an across-the-board legalisation of abortion, and marginalise the male say in the matter, or eliminate it altogether, which I disagree with as well.
It is clearly not a part of a woman’s body.
Since when does a part of one’s body has a different DNA than the rest of it?
Besides, even if it were the case, there are many things that one legally cannot do with one’s body, e.g. make it work more than the restricted hours; sell a part of it; submitt it to some drugs; etc.
Here comes the the so called left wing liberals again…telling us why we have( need) to legalize abortion.
Life is precious from the womb to the tomb. Abortion is a terrible thing for any women to go through. They suffer in silence. It a money making horror for the abortion clinics and Drs.
I have 3 children and also have experienced an ectopic pregnency and a miscarraige. Each time, from the moment I knew I was pregnant I knew I was carrying a baby, not a foetus who someday would become a baby. I didn’t question when this ” foetus” would become a baby because he/she was a baby from the moment he/she was conceived. It seems to be convenient for people who say they are pro-abortion to think of the baby as something less than human because then they do not have to face the reality that abortion involves 3 lives: the death of the baby and the effect that death will have on the baby’s parents. Myself and the babies’ father have experienced that loss twice, not through abortion but through misscarraige and it leaves deep emotional scars. I have also worked with women who have had crisis pregnancies and invariably the women are really in crisis because they are pregnant. They are crying out for help. I have found that if they are given emotional support and practical help, including financial help, they prefer to have their baby. Then they have a real choice, whether to keep their child or to have it adopted. This is not an easy road but it is far more positive than the death of the baby.
Also some people made comments that abortion should be allowed in the case of rape. I don’t agree because studies show that psychologically it is better for the woman to have her baby rather that abort it. Women who have abortions after rape have a higher rate of suicide. I can understand why. I cannot imagine how harrowing an experience rape would be but to add the trauma of an abortion to that would be even more harrowing. Also why should the innocent child lose its life just because it was conceived through rape. So I think the real issue we should be looking at is : Is there enough support and help for women who find themselves in that situation and the answer is no. As long as there isn’t enough support these women will continue to resort to abortion, usually in desperation, because they see no other way out.
Abortion is not necessarily a trauma. Abortion is made traumatic because of the taboos surrounding it, the difficulties procuring it, the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. Providing safe, legal and timely access to abortion would make it less traumatic. Providing better sex education, free contraception and more openness about abortion would make it rarer.
It’s a woman’s right – end of.
Legal abortion opens up railroaded abortion, esp if a teenager’s parents tell her to have an abortion, how can she say no?
Post-abortion morbidity is not mentioned very much, but in NZ anyway, a woman who has had an abortion is 7 times higher than those who have not, to commit suicide, there may be other factors, but that is a high causal inference.
You all pro-abortion, what an irony.You will be the same to campaign for lifes of animal to be saved and plants not to be destroyed but can not stand the lifes of unborn child no matter the circumstances of how it came about.
Pls stop this madness now,think about if you had been the unborn baby!
Abortion is the woman’s right, full stop. If ever we as a nation needed to shake off the bloody catholic guilt embedded into us it’s now with the cloyne report etc… The church has this country destroyed for long enough… It’s 2011 not 1711!!!
Abortion is not pro-choice if your parents are pushing you to do it, and the father and his parents are doing the same. This did not hapen to me, but when you come from a country with legal abortion, it happens to girls you grew up with.
It becomes a life at the point of conceive,so a life is at stake here.Ivana Bacik, stop campaning for life to be taken.
Good!
have your say