Cork Women's Right to Choose has written a letter to local TDs, Senators, City and County Councillors, and Ireland South MEPs urging them to support the women whose case is being heard in the European Court of Human Rights tomorrow, Wednesday 9th December 2009. We urge you to do the same. Please contact your local representatives, the newspapers, radio stations, and your friends and family and get them to support these courageous women taking their historic case. We cannot be silent any longer - the Irish government must end decades of hypocrisy and legalise abortion now!
Text of the letter:
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group are writing to ask you to give your public support to the three women whose courageous legal challenge to Ireland's abortion ban will be heard in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg this Wednesday, 9th December 2009. Seventeen judges will hear the cases of these women, identified only as A, B and C, all of whom were forced to go abroad to terminate their pregnancies. A, B, and C will argue that restrictive Irish laws jeopardised their health and well-being and breached their human rights. As a signatory to the Convention, the Irish Government is obliged to take measures to implement whatever decisions are made by the Court.
The Irish government's failure to deal with this issue is now being exposed to international scrutiny. In almost two decades since the X case ruling, successive governments have failed either to legislate or provide guidelines on when an abortion may be performed, even to save a woman’s life. On the contrary, they have tried not only to roll back that judgement but also to ensure that women whose pregnancy threatens their health will be unable to have terminations. This will ultimately be recognized for what is: an abuse of women and a denial of their human right to life and health.
Recent polls show increasing public desire for change. A 2004 Crisis Pregnancy agency study found that 90% of 18-45 year olds support abortion in certain circumstances, with 51% stating that women should always have to right to choose an abortion. A 2007 Irish Times Behaviour and Attitudes Poll found that 54% of women believe the Government should act to permit abortion.
The failure of the state to act with women’s rights and interests at heart has left the applicants in this week’s Strasbourg cases little option but to take the international route to achieve justice for themselves. Hopefully the outcome will be the protection of the lives and health of women resident in Ireland in the future. It isn’t acceptable any more to turn a blind eye and hope Britain will deal with this issue for us. We have tolerated a two-tier system where women with money could travel and pay the €1,000 or so cost if they had health or other problems. As lawyer Catherine Forde put it, women are forced to scurry abroad like criminals. Over decades this has cost women dearly in stress and brought a range of health risks, for example from late abortion when it has taken time to get the funds together.
It is time to say enough - and change our law. Women should not have to expose the most intimate details of their pregnancies and lives in court or have to rely on judges to make decisions about their lives and health. We call on you to support this historic legal challenge. The Irish public will not tolerate the continued violation of women's health and human rights.
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group
Website: http://corkwomensrighttochoose.blogspot.com
Email: cork.womens.right.to.choose@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Feminist Wire: Irish Abortion Challenge Hearing This Week
December 7, 2009
The case of three Irish women who are challenging Ireland's abortion ban will be heard by the full 17 member chamber of the European Court of Human Rights this week. The three women claim in their lawsuit, ABC v. Ireland, that their well-being and health was threatened by Ireland's restrictive laws that prevent abortion in almost every circumstance except when a woman's life is in jeopardy. Due to the stigma associated with abortion, the women have chosen to remain anonymous and are referred to as A, B, and C in court documents.
All three women traveled to England to have an abortion. Annually, more than 7,000 women travel from Ireland to obtain legal and safe abortions elsewhere. The Irish Family Planning Association, which represents the women, argue that the necessity to travel to obtain safe and legal abortion is direct discrimination based on sex and financial status. They charge that their human rights were violated under the European Convention of Human Rights' "Articles 2 (Right to Life), 3 (Prohibition of Torture), 8 (Right to Respect for Family and Private Life) and 14 (Prohibition of Discrimination)."
In 2007, a similar case brought to the same Court by a Polish woman resulted in the court instructing Poland to change its abortion laws, according to the Irish Times.
Historically, there has been strong opposition within largely Roman Catholic Ireland to legalizing abortion. Abortion is criminalized in Ireland by an 1861 law that prohibits "unlawfully procur[ing] a miscarriage" and threatens life imprisonment. In the 1992 'X Case', the Irish Supreme Court ruled that abortion is allowable only when the woman's life is substantially at risk, according to the Irish Independent.
Media Resources: Irish Independent 12/7/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 7/10/09; Irish Times 4/21/09; Irish Family Planning Association
LINK: http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=12110
The case of three Irish women who are challenging Ireland's abortion ban will be heard by the full 17 member chamber of the European Court of Human Rights this week. The three women claim in their lawsuit, ABC v. Ireland, that their well-being and health was threatened by Ireland's restrictive laws that prevent abortion in almost every circumstance except when a woman's life is in jeopardy. Due to the stigma associated with abortion, the women have chosen to remain anonymous and are referred to as A, B, and C in court documents.
All three women traveled to England to have an abortion. Annually, more than 7,000 women travel from Ireland to obtain legal and safe abortions elsewhere. The Irish Family Planning Association, which represents the women, argue that the necessity to travel to obtain safe and legal abortion is direct discrimination based on sex and financial status. They charge that their human rights were violated under the European Convention of Human Rights' "Articles 2 (Right to Life), 3 (Prohibition of Torture), 8 (Right to Respect for Family and Private Life) and 14 (Prohibition of Discrimination)."
In 2007, a similar case brought to the same Court by a Polish woman resulted in the court instructing Poland to change its abortion laws, according to the Irish Times.
Historically, there has been strong opposition within largely Roman Catholic Ireland to legalizing abortion. Abortion is criminalized in Ireland by an 1861 law that prohibits "unlawfully procur[ing] a miscarriage" and threatens life imprisonment. In the 1992 'X Case', the Irish Supreme Court ruled that abortion is allowable only when the woman's life is substantially at risk, according to the Irish Independent.
Media Resources: Irish Independent 12/7/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 7/10/09; Irish Times 4/21/09; Irish Family Planning Association
LINK: http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=12110
Irish Examiner: Criticism ahead of abortion ban fight
By Catherine Shanahan
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
AN international pro-choice movement has criticised the Government for failing to protect the reproductive rights of women on the eve of a legal challenge to the Irish ban on abortion.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), of which the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) is a member, said the Government had "consistently put barriers in the way of women" who seek an abortion, forcing them to travel overseas.
The federation’s director general Dr Gill Greer, said: "In this the Irish Government is not only going against the global trend to legalise and liberalise abortion laws, they are going against the majority of their own citizens whom recent opinion polls show to be broadly in favour of liberalising the law."
The hearing begins tomorrow in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg where three women living in Ireland will challenge the Republic of Ireland’s ban on abortion.
The women, known as A, B and C, are challenging the ban on the grounds that the law jeopardises their health and wellbeing in violation of their rights under a number of articles in the European Convention on Human Rights The three women at the centre of the case include:
* A woman who was informed by her doctor that she was at risk of an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life threatening condition.
* A woman who had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, who became pregnant unintentionally and was unaware of her pregnancy.
* A woman who was living in poverty and whose children had been taken into the care of the state; at the time she became unintentionally pregnant she was in the process of improving her circumstances with a view to regaining custody of her children. She considered a further child would jeopardise the reunification of her family. All three women were forced to travel to England to access legal abortion services.
The women lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in August 2005. If successful, the case would establish a minimum degree of protection to which a woman seeking an abortion to protect her health and well-being would be entitled, under the European Convention of Human Rights.
Yesterday the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said there was "never any moral justification for the law to place a barrier between women and medical care".
The IFPA said that since 1980, at least 138,000 women and girls have travelled aboard to access safe and legal abortion services. The IFPA said it "has extensive knowledge of the extreme physical, financial and emotional hardship experienced by women forced to travel abroad for health care they believe should be available to them at home".
However a statement from the Pro-Life Campaign said the IFPA’s "sponsorship of the A, B and C cases... ignores the fact that Ireland without abortion is the safest country in the world in which to be pregnant and the growing evidence that abortion has very serious negative consequences for some women".
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, December 08, 2009
LINK: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/criticism-ahead-of-abortion-ban-fight-107382.html#ixzz0Z6YUdLEj
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
AN international pro-choice movement has criticised the Government for failing to protect the reproductive rights of women on the eve of a legal challenge to the Irish ban on abortion.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), of which the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) is a member, said the Government had "consistently put barriers in the way of women" who seek an abortion, forcing them to travel overseas.
The federation’s director general Dr Gill Greer, said: "In this the Irish Government is not only going against the global trend to legalise and liberalise abortion laws, they are going against the majority of their own citizens whom recent opinion polls show to be broadly in favour of liberalising the law."
The hearing begins tomorrow in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg where three women living in Ireland will challenge the Republic of Ireland’s ban on abortion.
The women, known as A, B and C, are challenging the ban on the grounds that the law jeopardises their health and wellbeing in violation of their rights under a number of articles in the European Convention on Human Rights The three women at the centre of the case include:
* A woman who was informed by her doctor that she was at risk of an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life threatening condition.
* A woman who had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, who became pregnant unintentionally and was unaware of her pregnancy.
* A woman who was living in poverty and whose children had been taken into the care of the state; at the time she became unintentionally pregnant she was in the process of improving her circumstances with a view to regaining custody of her children. She considered a further child would jeopardise the reunification of her family. All three women were forced to travel to England to access legal abortion services.
The women lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in August 2005. If successful, the case would establish a minimum degree of protection to which a woman seeking an abortion to protect her health and well-being would be entitled, under the European Convention of Human Rights.
Yesterday the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said there was "never any moral justification for the law to place a barrier between women and medical care".
The IFPA said that since 1980, at least 138,000 women and girls have travelled aboard to access safe and legal abortion services. The IFPA said it "has extensive knowledge of the extreme physical, financial and emotional hardship experienced by women forced to travel abroad for health care they believe should be available to them at home".
However a statement from the Pro-Life Campaign said the IFPA’s "sponsorship of the A, B and C cases... ignores the fact that Ireland without abortion is the safest country in the world in which to be pregnant and the growing evidence that abortion has very serious negative consequences for some women".
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, December 08, 2009
LINK: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/criticism-ahead-of-abortion-ban-fight-107382.html#ixzz0Z6YUdLEj
Monday, December 7, 2009
Independent: State defends ban on abortion as women take case to Europe
By Dearbhail McDonald Legal Editor
Monday December 07 2009
THE Government is to defend Ireland's controversial abortion ban in a landmark case this week in the European Court of Human Rights.
And if Ireland is found to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights it may lead to the introduction of abortion here in limited circumstances.
Attorney General Paul Gallagher will lead an eight-strong legal team to Strasbourg to defend the ban.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will sit on Wednesday to hear the action brought by three Irish women in a ruling that could have European-wide implications.
The case has been taken by three women identified as A, B and C, who claim their health was put at risk by being forced to go abroad for abortions.
In an indication of how robustly the State will defend Ireland's ban, Mr Gallagher has engaged two of the country's leading constitutional lawyers, Donal O'Donnell SC and Brian Murray SC.
If successful, the case could establish the minimum degree of protection to which a woman seeking an abortion to safeguard her health and wellbeing would be entitled under the European Convention on Human Rights.
And it may, if Ireland is found to be in violation of the convention, lead to abortion being available here in certain circumstances.
Abortion is criminalised under the Offences against the Person Act of 1861, which threatens women who 'unlawfully procure a miscarriage' with life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court ruled in the 1992 'X Case', which convulsed the country, that abortion is permitted where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother (including the risk of suicide), as distinct from her health.
Problems
But successive governments have shied away from introducing laws to give effect to the ruling or clarify the legal status of the unborn, leading to problems in other areas such as IVF.
The Irish ban will be interpreted in light of a recent abortion case which found against Poland.
The case, Tysiac vs Poland, imposed an obligation on states to provide effective procedures for women to obtain abortions that are legal under national law, signalling that, at the very least, the Government may be obliged to legislate for the X case.
Mr Gallagher, who may personally appear as an advocate before the court, is expected to argue that Ireland is entitled to rely on the "margin of appreciation doctrine" which is often used in cases involving sensitive domestic legal issues.
This doctrine affords a range of discretion to individual member states in the interpretation of convention law and allows the ECHR to take into effect the fact that the convention will be interpreted differently in different signatory states.
The women, supported by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), will argue that the ban violates a key right under the convention.
The women lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in August 2005, contending that the Republic of Ireland breached their human rights under Articles 2 (Right to Life), 3 (Prohibition of Torture), 8 (Right to Respect for Family and Private Life) and 14 (Prohibition of Discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Senior counsel Carmel Stewart is representing the women, assisted by the IFPA's legal consultant, Julie Kay.
LINK: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/state-defends-ban-on-abortion--as-women-take-case-to-europe-1966158.html
Monday December 07 2009
THE Government is to defend Ireland's controversial abortion ban in a landmark case this week in the European Court of Human Rights.
And if Ireland is found to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights it may lead to the introduction of abortion here in limited circumstances.
Attorney General Paul Gallagher will lead an eight-strong legal team to Strasbourg to defend the ban.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will sit on Wednesday to hear the action brought by three Irish women in a ruling that could have European-wide implications.
The case has been taken by three women identified as A, B and C, who claim their health was put at risk by being forced to go abroad for abortions.
In an indication of how robustly the State will defend Ireland's ban, Mr Gallagher has engaged two of the country's leading constitutional lawyers, Donal O'Donnell SC and Brian Murray SC.
If successful, the case could establish the minimum degree of protection to which a woman seeking an abortion to safeguard her health and wellbeing would be entitled under the European Convention on Human Rights.
And it may, if Ireland is found to be in violation of the convention, lead to abortion being available here in certain circumstances.
Abortion is criminalised under the Offences against the Person Act of 1861, which threatens women who 'unlawfully procure a miscarriage' with life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court ruled in the 1992 'X Case', which convulsed the country, that abortion is permitted where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother (including the risk of suicide), as distinct from her health.
Problems
But successive governments have shied away from introducing laws to give effect to the ruling or clarify the legal status of the unborn, leading to problems in other areas such as IVF.
The Irish ban will be interpreted in light of a recent abortion case which found against Poland.
The case, Tysiac vs Poland, imposed an obligation on states to provide effective procedures for women to obtain abortions that are legal under national law, signalling that, at the very least, the Government may be obliged to legislate for the X case.
Mr Gallagher, who may personally appear as an advocate before the court, is expected to argue that Ireland is entitled to rely on the "margin of appreciation doctrine" which is often used in cases involving sensitive domestic legal issues.
This doctrine affords a range of discretion to individual member states in the interpretation of convention law and allows the ECHR to take into effect the fact that the convention will be interpreted differently in different signatory states.
The women, supported by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), will argue that the ban violates a key right under the convention.
The women lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in August 2005, contending that the Republic of Ireland breached their human rights under Articles 2 (Right to Life), 3 (Prohibition of Torture), 8 (Right to Respect for Family and Private Life) and 14 (Prohibition of Discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Senior counsel Carmel Stewart is representing the women, assisted by the IFPA's legal consultant, Julie Kay.
LINK: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/state-defends-ban-on-abortion--as-women-take-case-to-europe-1966158.html
Irish Examiner: Women challenge abortion law in European court
Monday, December 07, 2009 - 07:54 AM
Ireland’s abortion laws are being challenged in a landmark European court hearing which could overturn the Republic’s sovereign right to protect unconditionally “the life of the unborn”.
Three women living in Ireland claim the country's abortion ban violates the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Ireland is a signatory.
Backed by the Irish Family Planning Association and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the three anonymous women – identified only as “A, B and C” in court documents – say that being forced to travel abroad for abortions endangered their “health and wellbeing”.
The case will be heard on Wednesday in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, with Irish Government lawyers arguing that the safeguards of the Human Rights Convention cannot be interpreted as endorsing the right to abortion.
They will also insist that, despite the abortion ban, Ireland does supply post-abortion care and counselling.
Abortion was outlawed under an 1861 rule which still sets life imprisonment as an option for women convicted of “unlawfully procuring a miscarriage”.
Ireland’s constitution “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”.
The ban was reinforced by public backing in a 1983 referendum.
The three women now challenging that law are claiming that being forced to leave Ireland to terminate their pregnancies caused hardship and unnecessary costs.
One of the three had been diagnosed as at risk of an ectopic pregnancy, with the foetus developing outside the womb. Another had become pregnant while receiving chemotherapy for cancer. The third already had children who had been taken into care because of her inability to cope.
They all complained in 2005 that the pro-life Irish law breached Human Right Convention guarantees of the “right to respect for private and family life”, their “right to life”, the “prohibition of discrimination” and “prohibition of torture”.
After this week’s one-day hearing, the final ruling is excepted next year. If the women win their case, Irish abortion law may have to be adjusted to take account of the health and well-being of pregnant women.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the charity which provides abortions and contraception in Britain to women travelling from the Republic of Ireland, commented: “Hundreds of women travel each year to BPAS from the Republic of Ireland in order to access safe, legal abortion care.
“This is provided to women in almost every other country as a matter of necessary and responsible law-making.”
BPAS Medical Director Patricia Lohr said there could never be any “moral justification” for putting barriers between women and medical care: “Women from the Republic of Ireland often arrive for treatment alone, because they can’t afford to bring their partner or mother to accompany them.
“They are understandably very often apprehensive, having had to travel for hours or days to reach an unfamiliar clinic in England.
“It’s disturbing that the law in Ireland forces women to pay privately for care abroad. This creates weeks of delay before seeing a doctor while women try to borrow or save up money to pay for travel, accommodation and for their abortion.”
She went on: “The ban means that doctors in Ireland are not routinely issued with proper training and guidance to care for patients in the extremely common situation of seeking an abortion.
“Post-abortion aftercare and follow-up is not easily available in Ireland, meaning women may not get help if they need it, or have to pretend they’ve had a miscarriage to get help.
“As doctors, we’re concerned at the needless burden of additional risk caused by treatment delays. You don’t have to be medically qualified to understand that the Irish abortion ban risks women’s physical health, requires abortions to be performed later than necessary, and creates serious emotional upset for women at an already stressful time.”
LINK: www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/women-challenge-abortion-law-in-european-court-437232.html#ixzz0Z0lcWoKZ
Ireland’s abortion laws are being challenged in a landmark European court hearing which could overturn the Republic’s sovereign right to protect unconditionally “the life of the unborn”.
Three women living in Ireland claim the country's abortion ban violates the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Ireland is a signatory.
Backed by the Irish Family Planning Association and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the three anonymous women – identified only as “A, B and C” in court documents – say that being forced to travel abroad for abortions endangered their “health and wellbeing”.
The case will be heard on Wednesday in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, with Irish Government lawyers arguing that the safeguards of the Human Rights Convention cannot be interpreted as endorsing the right to abortion.
They will also insist that, despite the abortion ban, Ireland does supply post-abortion care and counselling.
Abortion was outlawed under an 1861 rule which still sets life imprisonment as an option for women convicted of “unlawfully procuring a miscarriage”.
Ireland’s constitution “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”.
The ban was reinforced by public backing in a 1983 referendum.
The three women now challenging that law are claiming that being forced to leave Ireland to terminate their pregnancies caused hardship and unnecessary costs.
One of the three had been diagnosed as at risk of an ectopic pregnancy, with the foetus developing outside the womb. Another had become pregnant while receiving chemotherapy for cancer. The third already had children who had been taken into care because of her inability to cope.
They all complained in 2005 that the pro-life Irish law breached Human Right Convention guarantees of the “right to respect for private and family life”, their “right to life”, the “prohibition of discrimination” and “prohibition of torture”.
After this week’s one-day hearing, the final ruling is excepted next year. If the women win their case, Irish abortion law may have to be adjusted to take account of the health and well-being of pregnant women.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the charity which provides abortions and contraception in Britain to women travelling from the Republic of Ireland, commented: “Hundreds of women travel each year to BPAS from the Republic of Ireland in order to access safe, legal abortion care.
“This is provided to women in almost every other country as a matter of necessary and responsible law-making.”
BPAS Medical Director Patricia Lohr said there could never be any “moral justification” for putting barriers between women and medical care: “Women from the Republic of Ireland often arrive for treatment alone, because they can’t afford to bring their partner or mother to accompany them.
“They are understandably very often apprehensive, having had to travel for hours or days to reach an unfamiliar clinic in England.
“It’s disturbing that the law in Ireland forces women to pay privately for care abroad. This creates weeks of delay before seeing a doctor while women try to borrow or save up money to pay for travel, accommodation and for their abortion.”
She went on: “The ban means that doctors in Ireland are not routinely issued with proper training and guidance to care for patients in the extremely common situation of seeking an abortion.
“Post-abortion aftercare and follow-up is not easily available in Ireland, meaning women may not get help if they need it, or have to pretend they’ve had a miscarriage to get help.
“As doctors, we’re concerned at the needless burden of additional risk caused by treatment delays. You don’t have to be medically qualified to understand that the Irish abortion ban risks women’s physical health, requires abortions to be performed later than necessary, and creates serious emotional upset for women at an already stressful time.”
LINK: www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/women-challenge-abortion-law-in-european-court-437232.html#ixzz0Z0lcWoKZ
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Cork Women's Right to Choose Supports Legal Challenge to Abortion Ban
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group issues statement of support for the women whose legal challenge to Ireland's abortion ban will be heard in Strasbourg on Wednesday (9th December)
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group welcomes this week’s European Court of Human Rights challenge to Ireland’s abortion ban. On Wednesday seventeen judges will hear the cases of three women, identified only as A,B and C, all of whom were forced to go abroad to terminate their pregnancies. They will argue that restrictive Irish laws jeopardised their health and well-being.
The issues involved include access to abortion when there is a risk of an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition where the foetus develops outside the womb; access to a termination when treatment for cancer is required; and the private decision not to continue a pregnancy under certain circumstances.
Spokeswoman Dr. Sandra McAvoy said:
“These courageous women deserve our support and our politicians deserve to have their failure to deal with this issue exposed to international scrutiny. In almost two decades since the X case ruling, successive governments have failed either to legislate or provide guidelines on when an abortion may be performed even to save a woman’s life. On the contrary, they have tried not only to roll back that judgement but also to ensure that women whose pregnancy threatens their health will be unable to have terminations. This will ultimately be recognized for what is: an abuse of women and a denial of their human right to life and health.”
A,B and C will argue that Ireland's ban on abortion has breached their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. As a signatory to the Convention, the Irish Government is obliged to take measures to implement whatever decisions are made by the Court.
Spokeswoman Dr. Jennifer Dewan explained:
“The recent case of a Polish woman, Alicja Tysiac, whose sight was seriously damaged in pregnancy, resulted in Poland being instructed to guarantee access to legal abortions. The Irish state has argued that the women involved in Wednesday’s cases had not exhausted their legal options at home, implying that they could have gone to court like the teenager, Miss D, had to two years ago. No way should women have to expose the most intimate details of their pregnancies and lives in court or have to rely on judges to make decisions about their lives and health.”
Abortion is illegal in Ireland under the Victorian 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, though the 1983 amendment to the Constitution provides an equal right to life for both the "unborn" and the pregnant woman. In the 1991 X case it was found that a woman was entitled to have an abortion in Ireland where there was a "real and substantial" risk to her life, including the risk of suicide.
In all other cases abortion is criminalized, though polls show increasing public desire for change. A 2004 Crisis Pregnancy agency study found that 90% of 18-45 year olds support abortion in certain circumstances, with 51% stating that women should always have to right to choose an abortion. A 2007 Irish Times Behaviour and Attitudes Poll found that 54% of women believe the Government should act to permit abortion.
In conclusion, Dr. Sandra McAvoy said:
“The failure of the state to act with women’s rights and interests at heart has left the applicants in this week’s Strasbourg cases little option but to take the international route to achieve justice for themselves. Hopefully the outcome will be the protection of the lives and health of women resident in Ireland in the future. It isn’t acceptable any more to turn a blind eye and hope Britain will deal with this issue for us. We have tolerated a two tier system where women with money could travel and pay the €1,000 or so cost if they had health or other problems. As lawyer Catherine Forde put it, they are forced to scurry abroad like criminals. Over decades this has cost women dearly in stress and brought a range of health risks, for example, from late abortion when it has taken time to get the funds together It is time to say enough - and change our law… ”
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group calls on the public and elected officials to support this historic legal challenge and demonstrate to the Irish Government that we will not tolerate the continued violation of women's health and human rights in Ireland.
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group welcomes this week’s European Court of Human Rights challenge to Ireland’s abortion ban. On Wednesday seventeen judges will hear the cases of three women, identified only as A,B and C, all of whom were forced to go abroad to terminate their pregnancies. They will argue that restrictive Irish laws jeopardised their health and well-being.
The issues involved include access to abortion when there is a risk of an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition where the foetus develops outside the womb; access to a termination when treatment for cancer is required; and the private decision not to continue a pregnancy under certain circumstances.
Spokeswoman Dr. Sandra McAvoy said:
“These courageous women deserve our support and our politicians deserve to have their failure to deal with this issue exposed to international scrutiny. In almost two decades since the X case ruling, successive governments have failed either to legislate or provide guidelines on when an abortion may be performed even to save a woman’s life. On the contrary, they have tried not only to roll back that judgement but also to ensure that women whose pregnancy threatens their health will be unable to have terminations. This will ultimately be recognized for what is: an abuse of women and a denial of their human right to life and health.”
A,B and C will argue that Ireland's ban on abortion has breached their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. As a signatory to the Convention, the Irish Government is obliged to take measures to implement whatever decisions are made by the Court.
Spokeswoman Dr. Jennifer Dewan explained:
“The recent case of a Polish woman, Alicja Tysiac, whose sight was seriously damaged in pregnancy, resulted in Poland being instructed to guarantee access to legal abortions. The Irish state has argued that the women involved in Wednesday’s cases had not exhausted their legal options at home, implying that they could have gone to court like the teenager, Miss D, had to two years ago. No way should women have to expose the most intimate details of their pregnancies and lives in court or have to rely on judges to make decisions about their lives and health.”
Abortion is illegal in Ireland under the Victorian 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, though the 1983 amendment to the Constitution provides an equal right to life for both the "unborn" and the pregnant woman. In the 1991 X case it was found that a woman was entitled to have an abortion in Ireland where there was a "real and substantial" risk to her life, including the risk of suicide.
In all other cases abortion is criminalized, though polls show increasing public desire for change. A 2004 Crisis Pregnancy agency study found that 90% of 18-45 year olds support abortion in certain circumstances, with 51% stating that women should always have to right to choose an abortion. A 2007 Irish Times Behaviour and Attitudes Poll found that 54% of women believe the Government should act to permit abortion.
In conclusion, Dr. Sandra McAvoy said:
“The failure of the state to act with women’s rights and interests at heart has left the applicants in this week’s Strasbourg cases little option but to take the international route to achieve justice for themselves. Hopefully the outcome will be the protection of the lives and health of women resident in Ireland in the future. It isn’t acceptable any more to turn a blind eye and hope Britain will deal with this issue for us. We have tolerated a two tier system where women with money could travel and pay the €1,000 or so cost if they had health or other problems. As lawyer Catherine Forde put it, they are forced to scurry abroad like criminals. Over decades this has cost women dearly in stress and brought a range of health risks, for example, from late abortion when it has taken time to get the funds together It is time to say enough - and change our law… ”
Cork Women's Right to Choose Group calls on the public and elected officials to support this historic legal challenge and demonstrate to the Irish Government that we will not tolerate the continued violation of women's health and human rights in Ireland.
Irish Times: European court to be told Irish abortion ban violates rights
30 November 2009
by CARL O'BRIEN, Chief Reporter
THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights will press the Government on whether its ban on abortion violates women’s human rights at a legal challenge to the State’s abortion laws next week.
The case, taken by three women who say their health was put at risk by being forced to go abroad for abortions, is due to be heard before the court’s grand chamber of 17 judges.
Information circulated to legal teams for the Government and the three women show one of the main lines of questioning will focus on whether the State’s abortion law violates a key article of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Article 8 says a person has the “right to respect for private and family life” and public authorities should not interfere with this right.
The court will also seek information on what exact procedures are in place where a pregnancy poses a risk to the life of the mother, and how a woman pursues a lawful abortion in Ireland. Under the State’s laws, abortion is illegal here but may be performed if there is a substantial risk to the mother’s life, including the threat of suicide.
The court is to have a full hearing of the case before its grand chamber of 17 judges on December 9th.
Based in Strasbourg, the court, which is separate from the EU, adjudicates on human rights issues among all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights – now incorporated into Irish law – the Government is obliged to seek to implement whatever decisions are made by the courts.
The identities of the women, known as A, B and C, will remain confidential as the case proceeds.
They include a woman who ran the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus develops outside the womb; a woman who received chemotherapy for cancer; and a woman whose children were placed in care as she was unable to cope.
They argue that the lack of any effective remedy at home means they have satisfied the requirement to exhaust domestic legal remedies. In addition, they say that taking a case would have been costly, futile and could have forced them to relinquish their anonymity.
The Government, however, contends that domestic legal remedies have not been exhausted by the women. It also robustly challenges suggestions by them that there is a lack of post-abortion care or counselling in Ireland. Among the questions the court will ask of the Government, and the the three women, include:
Have the applicants exhausted domestic legal remedies available?
What guarantees of confidentiality could the women have had regarding such domestic proceedings, bearing in mind other cases such as the “D” case (which involved an Irish teenager in the care system who won a legal battle to be allowed have an abortion abroad)?
The case will be watched closely by observers given a ruling by the same court in recent years that resulted in Poland being instructed to guarantee access to legal abortions.
LINK: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1130/1224259710533.html
by CARL O'BRIEN, Chief Reporter
THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights will press the Government on whether its ban on abortion violates women’s human rights at a legal challenge to the State’s abortion laws next week.
The case, taken by three women who say their health was put at risk by being forced to go abroad for abortions, is due to be heard before the court’s grand chamber of 17 judges.
Information circulated to legal teams for the Government and the three women show one of the main lines of questioning will focus on whether the State’s abortion law violates a key article of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Article 8 says a person has the “right to respect for private and family life” and public authorities should not interfere with this right.
The court will also seek information on what exact procedures are in place where a pregnancy poses a risk to the life of the mother, and how a woman pursues a lawful abortion in Ireland. Under the State’s laws, abortion is illegal here but may be performed if there is a substantial risk to the mother’s life, including the threat of suicide.
The court is to have a full hearing of the case before its grand chamber of 17 judges on December 9th.
Based in Strasbourg, the court, which is separate from the EU, adjudicates on human rights issues among all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights – now incorporated into Irish law – the Government is obliged to seek to implement whatever decisions are made by the courts.
The identities of the women, known as A, B and C, will remain confidential as the case proceeds.
They include a woman who ran the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus develops outside the womb; a woman who received chemotherapy for cancer; and a woman whose children were placed in care as she was unable to cope.
They argue that the lack of any effective remedy at home means they have satisfied the requirement to exhaust domestic legal remedies. In addition, they say that taking a case would have been costly, futile and could have forced them to relinquish their anonymity.
The Government, however, contends that domestic legal remedies have not been exhausted by the women. It also robustly challenges suggestions by them that there is a lack of post-abortion care or counselling in Ireland. Among the questions the court will ask of the Government, and the the three women, include:
Have the applicants exhausted domestic legal remedies available?
What guarantees of confidentiality could the women have had regarding such domestic proceedings, bearing in mind other cases such as the “D” case (which involved an Irish teenager in the care system who won a legal battle to be allowed have an abortion abroad)?
The case will be watched closely by observers given a ruling by the same court in recent years that resulted in Poland being instructed to guarantee access to legal abortions.
LINK: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1130/1224259710533.html
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