The Grumpy Muppet (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} grumpymuppet) wrote,@ 2007-05-01 09:21:00 |
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Here we go again,
Any of you who keep in touch with the Irish news will have no doubt heard this already, but for the ex-patriots among you, Girl seeking abortion challenges HSE
Another case, another letter, this time it's "Miss D" a seventeen year old girl who finds herself in the care of the HSE and carring an anencephalic foetus. A child with this condition, if it survives to full term is not viable, will be blind, deaf, unconscious, unable to feel pain and will die within 3 days of delivery.
Under our current laws this girl as a minor is not allowed to travel to the UK for an abortion, as there is no threat to the life of the mother and the HSE have contacted the Gardai to ensure that she does not leave the State.
It's so disheartening to have to see this issue dragged out again, over the coming days and weeks we will probably see the usual "pro-life" suspects, Youth Defence, Opus Dei and so on trotting out to stick their nose in where it's not wanted. In the C case, they even went so far as to hire legal councel to represent the foetus.
The C case and the resulting referendum happened while I was an active member of the SWP, and it was those marches and demonstrations that I remember most, there was a real sense that what we were doing really mattered, and that people might actually listen to us. I also remember our marches being shaddowed by members of Youth Defence who screamed that we were looking for the "Right to Murder". It always seemed as though we had the greater numbers, and things looked like they might just be about to change.
In the end though the referendum was lost and the law remained as archaic as ever, with a daft concession for cases where the mother's life was in danger, including danger from suicide.
In order to be allowed travel for an abortion therefore this girl would need to prove that the fact that she is carrying her own doomed baby towards a delivery that it is unlikely to survive could prompt her to commit suicide, and even if she did prove that, she would still have to leave the country to get the abortion. It's insanity, the courts may establish that she has the right to abort her pregnancy, but the law will prevent an Irish doctor from performing the procedure, (as far as I know abortions can only be performed in Irish hospitals in emergancy situations where there is an immeadiate danger to the life of the mother).
Will this case spark another constitutional crisis ? Will the nation be divided again on this issue ? Will there be another referendum and another massive fudging of the issue by the government ? How long before another case comes to light that re-opens the whole issue again ?
Thousands of Irish women already travel to the UK for abortions every year, the only requirement is that they have the money needed to pay for a flight, accomodation and the medical expenses. Of course traveling for an abortion often cuts a woman off from councelling services and after care offered by a lot of clinics, which leads to all sorts of problems, psychological and otherwise.
It's way past time for this to be taken by the horns, for the Catholic Church and the Pro-Life movement to be engaged and beaten in open argument, the hypocracy of the current legal status of abortion in Ireland needs to be exposed, and for the reproductive rights of Irish women to be protected properly. It's a woman's right to choose wether or not to keep a baby, no court has the right to force her to justify or explain her choice or her reasons.
Of course, the side of the pro-choice argument that you don't hear is that equal protection should be afforded to women who choose to keep their babies, provision of proper antenatal and postnatal care, a decent child-care system are all part of the pro-choice campaign, the focus is on the word "choice" whatever decision a woman makes regarding her pregnancy, she should have the best support, treatment and aftercare.
Echoing around my head, I can still hear the slogans from the last time,
"Make it free, make it safe, make it legal"
I'm sure there will be much more on this in the days to come.
Any of you who keep in touch with the Irish news will have no doubt heard this already, but for the ex-patriots among you, Girl seeking abortion challenges HSE
Another case, another letter, this time it's "Miss D" a seventeen year old girl who finds herself in the care of the HSE and carring an anencephalic foetus. A child with this condition, if it survives to full term is not viable, will be blind, deaf, unconscious, unable to feel pain and will die within 3 days of delivery.
Under our current laws this girl as a minor is not allowed to travel to the UK for an abortion, as there is no threat to the life of the mother and the HSE have contacted the Gardai to ensure that she does not leave the State.
It's so disheartening to have to see this issue dragged out again, over the coming days and weeks we will probably see the usual "pro-life" suspects, Youth Defence, Opus Dei and so on trotting out to stick their nose in where it's not wanted. In the C case, they even went so far as to hire legal councel to represent the foetus.
The C case and the resulting referendum happened while I was an active member of the SWP, and it was those marches and demonstrations that I remember most, there was a real sense that what we were doing really mattered, and that people might actually listen to us. I also remember our marches being shaddowed by members of Youth Defence who screamed that we were looking for the "Right to Murder". It always seemed as though we had the greater numbers, and things looked like they might just be about to change.
In the end though the referendum was lost and the law remained as archaic as ever, with a daft concession for cases where the mother's life was in danger, including danger from suicide.
In order to be allowed travel for an abortion therefore this girl would need to prove that the fact that she is carrying her own doomed baby towards a delivery that it is unlikely to survive could prompt her to commit suicide, and even if she did prove that, she would still have to leave the country to get the abortion. It's insanity, the courts may establish that she has the right to abort her pregnancy, but the law will prevent an Irish doctor from performing the procedure, (as far as I know abortions can only be performed in Irish hospitals in emergancy situations where there is an immeadiate danger to the life of the mother).
Will this case spark another constitutional crisis ? Will the nation be divided again on this issue ? Will there be another referendum and another massive fudging of the issue by the government ? How long before another case comes to light that re-opens the whole issue again ?
Thousands of Irish women already travel to the UK for abortions every year, the only requirement is that they have the money needed to pay for a flight, accomodation and the medical expenses. Of course traveling for an abortion often cuts a woman off from councelling services and after care offered by a lot of clinics, which leads to all sorts of problems, psychological and otherwise.
It's way past time for this to be taken by the horns, for the Catholic Church and the Pro-Life movement to be engaged and beaten in open argument, the hypocracy of the current legal status of abortion in Ireland needs to be exposed, and for the reproductive rights of Irish women to be protected properly. It's a woman's right to choose wether or not to keep a baby, no court has the right to force her to justify or explain her choice or her reasons.
Of course, the side of the pro-choice argument that you don't hear is that equal protection should be afforded to women who choose to keep their babies, provision of proper antenatal and postnatal care, a decent child-care system are all part of the pro-choice campaign, the focus is on the word "choice" whatever decision a woman makes regarding her pregnancy, she should have the best support, treatment and aftercare.
Echoing around my head, I can still hear the slogans from the last time,
"Make it free, make it safe, make it legal"
I'm sure there will be much more on this in the days to come.
