Monday, April 28, 2008

Write your TDs and Senators asking them to support the Council of Europe's Resolution on Safe and Legal Abortion!



A Sample Letter to a TD:


Dáil Éireann
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2


Dear

Last week, the Council of Europe approved a resolution calling on member states to provide access to safe and legal abortions. The resolution was passed based on a report produced by the Council of Europe's Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. The report specifically picked out Ireland, along with Andorra, Malta, and Poland, as the only countries in Europe where abortion is not available on request.

As a result of the X Case in 1992, abortion is legally available in Ireland in cases where there is a substantial threat to the life (as opposed to the health) of the mother, though in reality this has neither been legislated for nor tested. In most cases, doctors do not perform abortions in Ireland even in order to save a woman's life, as a result of sexual violence, or in cases of lethal fetal abnormalities, and those women who are able and can afford to are forced to travel abroad. Laws banning abortion are discriminatory because they expose women to increased health risks and undermine women's capacity to make responsible decisions about their lives and their bodies. In the case of Ireland, women who for whatever reason cannot travel abroad to obtain an abortion are forced to have a child they may be ill-equipped to care for. Further, banning access to safe and legal abortion does not prevent it from happening; it only forces it underground, making the decision to obtain an abortion more dangerous and traumatic for women. The Irish Government's continued failure to clarify the X case ruling and legislate for access to safe and legal abortion in Ireland is discriminatory against all women, and particularly disadvantaged women.

The Council of Europe's resolution is in line with international commitments Ireland has already made in relation to the Cairo Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), all of which recognize women's rights to bodily integrity and reproductive choice as human rights.

I urge you and your fellow members of the Dáil to follow the recommendation of the Council of Europe and work to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Constitution (Article 40.3.3) banning abortion in Ireland. I also urge you to provide funds and resources for comprehensive sex education for children, reasonably priced contraception, and free and easily accessible crisis pregnancy counselling that includes all of the options.


Sincerely,




A List of Cork TDs and Senators:

Cork East (4 seats)
1. Micheal Ahern (FF)
2. Ned O'Keeffe (FF)
3. David Stanton (FG)
4. Sean Sherlock (Lab)

Cork North Central (4 seats)
1. Billy Kelleher (FF)
2. Noel O'Flynn (FF)
3. Bernard Allen (FG)
4. Kathleen Lynch (Lab)

Cork North West(3 seats)
1. Michael Moynihan (FF)
2. Batt O'Keeffe (FF)
3. Michael Creed (FG)

Cork South Central (5 seats)
1. Michael Martin (FF):
2. Michael McGrath (FF)
3. Simon Coveney (FG)
4. Deirdre Clune (FG) :
5. Ciaran Lynch (Lab)

Cork South West (3 seats)
1. Christy O'Sullivan (FF)
2. Jim O'Keeffe (FG)
3. PJ Sheehan (FG)

Senators:
1. Peter Callanan (FF)
2. Denis O'Donovan (FF)
3. Paul Bradford (FG)
4. Jerry Buttimer, Jnr (FG)
5. Michael McCarthy (Lab)
6. Dan Boyle (Green)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Stop the Silence, End the Stigma, Part 3

Stop the Silence, End the Stigma, Part 2

Stop the Silence, End the Stigma, Part 1

Council of Europe Press Statement

Wednesday, 9th April 2008

Cork Women's Right to Choose Group Welcomes Council of Europe's Call for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion in Europe

In advance of the Council of Europe's session on abortion on 16th April 2008, Cork Women's Right to Choose Group welcomes the report issued by the Council of Europe's Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men calling for access to safe and legal abortions in all European countries.

The Report recommends that European states:

1) Decriminalise abortion if they have not already done so;

2) Guarantee women's effective exercise of their right to abortion and lift restrictions which hinder, de jure or de facto, access to safe abortion;

3) Adopt appropriate sexual and reproductive health strategies, including access of women and men to contraception at a reasonable cost and of a suitable nature for them as well as compulsory relationships and sex education for young people.

The Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men specifically picks out Ireland, along with Andorra, Malta, and Poland, as the only countries in Europe where abortion is not available on request.

As a result of the X Case in 1992, abortion is legally available in Ireland in cases where there is a substantial threat to the life (as opposed to the health) of the mother, though in reality this has neither been legislated for nor tested. In most cases, doctors do not perform abortions in Ireland even in order to save a woman's life, as a result of sexual violence, or in cases of lethal fetal abnormalities, and those women who are able and can afford to are forced to travel abroad.

The Report highlights that laws banning abortion are discriminatory because they expose women to increased health risks and undermine women's capacity to make responsible decisions about their lives and their bodies. In the case of Ireland, women who for whatever reason cannot travel abroad to obtain an abortion are forced to have a child they may be ill-equipped to care for. According to the Report, "going through with an unwanted pregnancy can take a heavy toll on women's physical and emotional well-being and that of their families." The Report also exposes the hypocrisy that banning access to safe and legal abortion does not prevent it from happening; it only forces it underground, making the decision to obtain an abortion more dangerous and traumatic for women.

"The Government's continued failure to clarify the X case ruling and legislate for access to safe and legal abortion in Ireland is discriminatory against all women, and particularly disadvantaged women," said Sandra McAvoy, spokesperson for Cork Women's Right to Choose Group.

The Report's recommendations are in line with international commitments Ireland has already made in relation to the Cairo Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), all of which recognize women's rights to bodily integrity and reproductive choice as human rights.

"We urge the Government to follow the recommendations of the Council of Europe and other international organisations and provide access to safe and legal abortion in Ireland by repealing the 8th Amendment to the Constitution (Article 40.3.3) banning abortion in Ireland," Ms. McAvoy said. "In addition, people must have access to proper crisis pregnancy counselling, sex education, and reasonably priced contraception."

Useful Links

www.ifpa.ie

www.safeandlegalinireland.ie

choiceireland.blogspot.com

www.reproductiverights.org

www.myspace.com/prochoicecork

www.mariestopes.org.uk

www.bpas.org.uk

Cork Women's Right to Choose Group

Based in Cork, the Cork Women's Right To Choose is a single-issue group; a loose alliance of women and men who believe that a woman has the right to control her fertility.

We believe that abortion should be treated as a health issue and not as a criminal law matter.

We campaign for all women in Ireland regardless of income, age or culture to have information on and access to the full range of reproductive choices.


Our Campaign:

➢ Free safe and legal abortion on demand for all women
➢ Free access to accurate information on all crisis pregnancy options
➢ Legislation regulating information provided by crisis pregnancy agencies
➢ Proper sex education
➢ Free access to multiple forms of contraception including Morning After Pill
➢ Increased support for single and low-income parents and working mothers including access to high-quality, affordable childcare


WE DEMAND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS FOR WOMEN

Abortion is illegal in Ireland based on the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. Since abortion was legalised in the United Kingdom in 1967, large numbers of Irish women have been travelling to the UK to obtain safe and legal abortions. Between January 1980 and December 2006, at least 128,300 women were forced to travel to Britain for abortion services. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as others travelled elsewhere and many more were unable to travel at all due to economic and other constraints. The current cost of an abortion in the UK is £710, meaning that the most vulnerable groups in our society can be denied the right to control their fertility. These figures highlight the clear social need for this generally straight-forward medical procedure, which is already availed by thousands of Irish women each year, to be made freely and equally available in Ireland.

A 1983 amendment to the Irish Constitution gave an embryo or foetus a right to life equal to that of the women in whose body it grew. 25 years and multiple human rights violations later, women still cannot access safe and legal abortions in Ireland, even where women are pregnant as a result of rape or incest; face severe health risks from continuing pregnancy; or find that they are carrying a foetus with severe disabilities. Incredibly, it is denied even to those women in the deeply traumatic position of being told that their baby will be stillborn. Such women must either carry their pregnancy to term in Ireland, knowing their baby has died, or travel to Britain for a termination.

Despite having won the right to travel and the right to information about abortion, women in Ireland are still being denied the respect for their rights, life, culture, health, dignity, autonomy and bodily integrity that is guaranteed under international law. This situation cannot continue.

In 2002, another referendum criminalising abortion was defeated by Irish voters. In 2007, the Irish public was shocked when the HSE refused to allow a 17 year-old girl carrying a non-viable foetus to travel to Britain for an abortion. An ESRI/RCSI poll in 2007 found that 64% of the Irish population believes that abortion is permissable in certain circumstances. Clearly, the Irish people want to see change regarding abortion legislation in Ireland. However, the Irish government has continually refused to address the issue of abortion.

Abortion must be freely available and equally accessible to all women who seek it.

Contact Us: cork.womens.right.to.choose@gmail.com