berer 28 september 2014 ireland, spain, uk
TRANSCRIPT
Everywhere you look
abortion is in the news
~~~~~~~~~~~Ireland, Spain, UK
Marge Berer
Editor, Reproductive Health Matters
~~~~~~~~~~
25 September 2014
UK: a little history
Abortion is still in the criminal law but almost no
woman who requests an abortion is denied it unless
she is over the legal time limit.
After the 1967 Act was passed, the anti-abortion
movement tried again and again to restrict the law,
unsuccessfully, and when the Corrie Bill was defeated
in 1980, lost its power inside and outside Parliament.
Numerous attempts through private members bills
and other tactics, even by show woman Nadine
Dorries, have failed, and I believe any attempt to
attack the core of our abortion legislation would fail.
Anti-abortion tactics (= being in the news) are now
focused on picketing clinics, media stories distorting
the facts and sensationalising the issues, making
false claims such as abortion=breast cancer and…
…Seeking to stigmatise certain abortions
While the anti-abortion movement has failed to restrict
the law, those of us in the abortion rights movement
have also not managed to extend the law to Northern
Ireland, take abortion out of the criminal law or make it
legal at the request of the woman (last big attempt –
HFEA Act amendments 2008).
Meanwhile, the strategy of attacking certain grounds
for abortion has been a powerful one, mainly because
the law allows only specific grounds and time limits and
outside those, there is still the threat of prosecution, as
in most countries. One woman in jail in England now.
Recent attacks include: sex selection, fetal anomaly,
time limits (12-20-22-24 weeks), midwives in Glasgow
seeking to extend the definition of conscientious
objection, and restrictions on doctors pre-signing
forms.
STOP PRESS Northern Ireland
New Health Minister Jim Wells appointed Tuesday 22
Sept in a Cabinet reshuffle.
2 years ago he opposed NI abortion laws being changed
so that rape victims could get a termination in local
hospitals. He described this as a tragic situation where
the ultimate victim was the unborn child, who should not
be punished.
“His appointment to the health brief comes as Northern
Ireland’s justice minister, David Ford, prepares a
discussion paper on whether the law on abortion should
be liberalised in the region.”
“Pro-choice campaigners are hoping that Ford’s paper
will suggest some reform of the region’s abortion laws
and have promised legal action if the status quo, the
near blanket ban on abortion, remains intact.” (Guardian,
23 Sept)
Ireland
European Court of Human Rights for 20 years passed
judgements in individual cases calling on Ireland to
change its abortion law.
Savita Halappanavar’s death in November 2012 −
following a miscarriage at 17 weeks of pregnancy that
led to septic infection after the hospital refused to
terminate it because there was a fetal heartbeat − led
to a mass response.
Rapid efforts this year led to a new law that met ECHR
requirements of allowing abortion on the grounds of
risk to the woman’s life and of suicide, and not a jot
more. At least one hospital said they would not obey
the law.
Although regulations allowing for implementation of the
law were slow to come, a test case arose quickly…
…and proved the law would fail women
Miss Y was an asylum-seeker, aged 18, tortured and
raped in her own country, who found she was
pregnant a few weeks after arriving in Ireland. She
was refused an abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy,
although she said she was suicidal.
Two psychiatrists had approved an abortion but the
obstetrician in the case said no, so it was denied. She
went on fluid and food hunger strike. She was
hospitalised for the sake of the baby, and a court order
was obtained by the obstetrician to force her to be
rehydrated.
A second court order was threatened to force her to
have a c-section at 24-25 weeks of pregnancy. A very
premature baby was delivered by c-section, and
remains in hospital.
Statements in the Irish media
Minister: We can't make decisions on abortion law
on basis of one case
The Education Minister has today rejected claims that
the new legislation on abortion is flawed. (Echo Reporter,
18 August)
Miss Y: "I was told the only way to end the pregnancy
at this point would be a Caesarean . . . They said
wherever you go in the world… anywhere, at this point
it has to be a Caesarean.“ (Irish Times, 19 August)
“Asylum seekers in Ireland have been given special
visas to go to the UK for abortions in recent years, the
Department of Justice has confirmed.” (RTE News, 23
August)
6.4 Guidance for health professionals – Protection of
life during pregnancy act 2013, 19th September 2014
Gestational age
“An important consideration in relation to the carrying
out of the medical procedure is the issue of the
gestational age of the unborn. There is no time limit
imposed by the Act in carrying out the medical
procedure. However, the Act legally requires doctors
to preserve unborn human life as far as practicable
without compromising the woman’s right to life.
Therefore, there is no specific stage of pregnancy
below which the certifying doctor will not have to
consider the possibility of preserving the life and the
dignity of the unborn where practicable without
compromising the life of the mother….”
Gestational age (continued)
“Once certification has taken place, a pregnant woman
has a right to a termination of pregnancy as soon as it
can be arranged. The clinicians responsible for her
care will need to use their clinical judgment as to the
most appropriate procedure to be carried out, in
cognisance of the constitutional protection afforded to
the unborn, i.e. a medical or surgical termination or an
early delivery by induction or Caesarean section.”
“Following certification, if the pregnancy is
approaching viability, it is recommended that a
multidisciplinary discussion takes place to ascertain
the most appropriate clinical management of the
case.”
We can look forward to further c-sections??
Protection of life during pregnancy act 2013
Irish Constitution 8th amendment is in line with
Catholic health doctrine related to pregnancy, abortion
and protection of life:
“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.” (Article 40.3.3°)
Whose life?
Spain
Spanish Government withdraws the abortion law
reform and Minister of Justice resigns
Tuesday morning, Spanish Prime Minister announced
that the government had withdrawn its controversial
abortion bill, due to a “lack of consensus”.
The bill, which was approved by the Council of
Ministers in Dec 2013, has been heavily criticised in
Spain and internationally.
The Minister of Justice, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, who
fiercely defended his reform despite the opposition it
caused nationally and internationally, resigned from his
position as Minister, his seat in the parliament and his
political party, after the announcement was made,
saying his political life had come to an end. (Statement,
Alianza por la Solidaridad, 24 September)
A demonstration against the Spanish government's
controversial bid to curb abortion rights in central
Madrid, International Women's Day, 8 March 2014,
RTE News 23 Sept 2014
An historical first
This is the first time I am aware of that a government
with a parliamentary majority has decided to withdraw
a bill restricting abortion due to the extent of public
opposition.
No room for complacency
The war on abortion, which is a war on women’s
autonomy, is far from over, and if I had a week I could
talk non-stop about what that means in country after
country around the world.
Much of what I have reported here has taken place in
the past month and much of it this week alone.
As Ireland has shown, the opposition is incredibly
powerful and has the inertia of the status quo and
powerful institutions on their side.
As Spain has shown, we have to be ready at a
minute’s notice. The success there was not due to
luck, but unprecedented coalition building and mass
organisation.
References
International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe
Abortion
www.safeabortionwomensright.org
Abortion in the criminal law: exposing the role of
health professionals, the police, the courts and
imprisonment internationally
http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/Abortion-in-the-criminal-law-
16-Oct-2013.pdf
References
Termination of pregnancy as emergency obstetric
care: the interpretation of Catholic health policy and
the consequences for pregnant women. An analysis of
the death of Savita Halappanavar in Ireland and
similar cases.
Reproductive Health Matters 2013;21(41):9-17.
Doi: 10.1016/S0968-8080(13)41711-1
From hospital to jail: the impact of El Salvador’s total
criminalization of abortion on women.
Reproductive Health Matters 2014;22(44).