IN RECENT years, arguments on whose rights should be placed to the forefront — the mother’s or the unborn child — has been constantly debated in Ireland.

But the current vote to maintain the 24-week period for an abortion drives many pro-choice campaigners and locals in Ireland to now question when will the Irish abortion laws be completely dissolved?

Every year Irish girls and women travel to England to get an abortion for numerous reasons — from being under-aged to more serious issues such as life-threatening risk.

Figures from the UK Department of Health shows that since 1980, 128,300 women providing Irish addresses had terminations in the U.K. where in 2006 5,043 women had an abortion.

Findings from the Irish Family Planning Association show that it costs approximately €1,000 to travel to the United Kingdom for an abortion. Most of these women are from marginalised background so this poses severe financial hardships.

Currently, there is a debate as to whether the 1967 Abortion Act should be extended to Ireland which would provide women with some level of choice where abortion is concerned.

Many have been campaigning for the rights of women to be recognised in Ireland, mainly for the possibility of having that choice should the need ever arise so they would not need to travel to England to have an abortion.

Aubrey Simpson, director for Family Planning Association (FPA) in Belfast, says: “Women go through our clientele services where they are referred but the FPA does not assist financially. In Northern Ireland, women are not allowed an abortion. If they are, it is only under extreme conditions and even then, they are sent to England.”

Although abortion is still illegal in Ireland they can be legally accepted under certain conditions. One of the conditions is that continuing with the pregnancy involves a greater risk to the physical or mental health of the woman, or her existing children, than having a termination.

Even so, the Irish Family Planning Association revealed in a report: “The law makes no provision for a woman who is pregnant as a result of rape or incest, experiencing severe foetal malformation, or at risk of permanent bodily harm such as blindness, diabetes, infections, kidney or heart disease, all of which may all result from continuation of pregnancy for some women. The law completely disregards the woman’s age, her mental capacity, and her other life circumstances.”

Even though suicide is categorised as a mental health illness and risk arising from suicide is plausible, it is yet to be seen of abortions being carried out on the grounds of the risk of suicide.

But regardless of the circumstances, if a woman illegally aborts her child in Ireland it carries the maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Senator Ivana Bacik, a spokesperson for Ireland’s Safe and Legal abortion rights campaign, speaks on the one of the reasons for campaigning for a women’s right to choose: “I believe that in order to ensure that women genuinely have the right to choose, the State must provide access to free or subsidised childcare facilities, in order to increase women’s participation in the workforce and to ensure greater work/life balance in the workplace.”

Extending the Act

Ivana believes that the 1967 Abortion Act should be extended to the Northern Ireland.

Richard Keane, project officer at the Irish Family planning Association agrees with Ivana and says: “The 1967 Act should extend to Northern Ireland - the failure to extend the legislation leaves many women from Northern Ireland with a restrictive abortion regime.”

With recent news of amendment to the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill in July, there may be a possibility that the 1967 Abortion Act could be extended to Northern Ireland much to the chagrin of right-to-life activist, politicians and churches.

Furthermore, MP Diane Abbott, a sponsor of the amendment, felt very positive that the proposal will be successful.

Calling the attempts for extending the 1967 Abortion Act “extremist, anti-democratic and arrogant” Betty Gibson, Northern Ireland chairwoman for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) opposes the MPs who tabled the amendments.

“None of the MPs who’ve tabled this amendment represent anyone from Northern Ireland. Dr Evan Harris is notorious for his anti-life extremism, and John Bercow has tabled another amendment launching a witch-hunt against pro-life pregnancy counselling services. Diane Abbott misled listeners In the Today programme by claiming that the law on abortion in Northern Ireland is stricter than in the Republic of Ireland.”

The SPUC also disputed Abbotts claim that “Northern Ireland women are effectively second-class citizens” because of their lack of abortion rights”.

“Diane Abbott has also based the attack on Northern Ireland legal protection for unborn children on a false interpretation of the Abortion Act. At present, UK law does not recognise a right to abortion and therefore her claim that women in Northern Ireland are being denied a right which exists in England, Scotland and Wales is merely factually inaccurate and merely pro-abortion propaganda,” says Betty.

On whether or not extending the 1967 Act is feasible Betty comments: “If MPs from England, Scotland and Wales ignore the will of approximately 90 per cent of the members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and insist on imposing their views on abortion on the people of Northern Ireland then it will be a very serious blow to the political process in the Province.”

However, representatives of the main political parties also oppose the move.

Mark Durkan, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, said: “The SDLP has been consistent in our total opposition to abortion and in particular to the proposed extension of the British 1967 Act to Northern Ireland.

“Before the previous hearing of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, I wrote to all Westminster MPs stating this case. I had expected that these amendments proposing such an extension would have been tabled at an earlier stage but it comes as no surprise that it has happened now.”

Commenting on the current atmosphere for the political parties and churches on this decision Mark Durkan, says: “I would hope all those politicians who voice their opposition to the extension of the Abortion Act to Northern Ireland will be present in the chamber when it comes up for debate later this year.

“The results of successive elections in the North demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of voters here are in favour of the current regime which does not provide for the 1967 Act.”

Photo credit: www.upnorthlive.com