The Abortion Referendum - Two opinions
Date: 19th Feb '02
Name: article from RM Irish news round up
Feature: The Abortion Referendum - Two opinions
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The latest referendum on abortion takes place on Wednesday, 6
March and the campaign kicked off proper this week with the
launch of campaigns for Yes and No votes by a number of
campaigns.
There is little understanding or agreement on what the referendum
is actually about, but here are two contrasting opinions on the
subject.
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Yes
(from the Pro-Life Campaign)
Every society has to address the issue of unexpected pregnancy.
Either we legislate for abortion on demand or we concentrate on
restoring clarity in the law regarding the right to life. The
government's proposal forces us to honestly confront the issue of
whether or not we believe the unborn child is worthy of legal
protection.
The proposal succeeds in restoring legal protection to the
unborn. While guaranteeing all necessary medical treatment for
women in pregnancy. It also places an obligation on society to
put the resources in place to meet the needs of women in crisis
pregnancy, by providing real alternatives to the painful option
of abortion.
In shaping public policy on this sensitive matter, there is a
responsibility to be guided by the medical experts in the area.
The proposal, therefore, rightly recognises that abortion is not
an appropriate response to suicidal feelings. At the recent
Oireachtas hearings on abortion, the psychiatric evidence showed
that abortion itself appears to be a significant risk factor for
suicide.
Ireland is among the safest countries in the world in which to be
pregnant. The Green Paper on Abortion recognised our success in
this area, Which is better than countries with abortion regimes.
The great merit of the proposed amendment is that it gives legal
certainty and protection to good medical practice.
It is deeply misleading for advocates of legalised abortion on
demand to claim the proposal will endanger women's lives. It
explicitly provides that doctors may give medical treatment to a
pregnant woman necessary to save her life, even if it results in
the loss of the unborn's life, as long as everything practicable
is done to preserve the baby's life.
The only alternative to clarifying the law regarding the right to
life is to legislate for abortion on demand. An reasonable
examination of the international experience of abortion suggests
that legalised abortion is not the answer. The accusations of
hypocrisy sometimes levelled against Ireland ignore the true
reality of abortion laws in other countries. In Britain, abortion
is legal, formally on health grounds, but in practice, allows for
abortion up to 24 weeks for any reason., and up to birth where
the child has a disability. Rather than confronting reality, such
laws do nothing to meet the real needs of women in crisis
pregnancy and represent a total denial of the humanity of the
unborn child.
The Labour Party supports legislation in line with the 1992
Supreme Court decision. In reality this amounts to abortion on
demand without time limits, right up to birth. It is an
inexcusable position for any Party claiming to champion human
rights.
Restoring clarity to the law on the right to life is an
indispensable first step to framing social policies to help
reduce our abortion rate. There is considerable scope with the
establishment of new Crisis Pregnancy Agency for providing
increased support for registered agencies offering positive
alternatives to abortion, in promoting contemporary models of
adoption, in putting in place adequate respite care facilities to
meet the needs of families with multiple special needs and in
providing resources to assist women hurt by abortion.
The Pro-Life Campaign will work enthusiastically in support of
the proposal over the coming weeks. We will try to play our part
in ensuring there is a calm and informed debate and that the
effort to clarify the legal situation is matched by a determined
effort to put in place the necessary resources to create a more
supportive environment for expectant mothers and their unborn
children.
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No
(from the Alliance for a No Vote)
For years, politicians have been exporting the issue of abortion.
Every year 7,000 Irish women - 19 every day - go to England to
terminate their pregnancies. In the Dail debate on this
referendum Fianna Fail TD Noel Ahern said that if his daughter
was suicidal due to a crisis pregnancy he would be on the plane
with her. For women without his money, the price of an abortion
in England is difficult to get hold of - and sometimes
impossible. In this referendum, the government's attitude is once
again 'Out of sight, out of mind'.
The Progressive Democrats are particularly hypocritical. In 1992
Mary Harney called for abortion to be made available in Ireland
in cases of rape, incest, risk of suicide and danger to the
woman's health. "In this debate, as in many others," she said,
"we will continue to export our problem to Britain. Once again,
Britain will provide a solution to an Irish problem." In the same
year Michael McDowell said that reversing the 'X' case was "a
euphemism for tilting the scales of justice so as to force Irish
women (including rape victims) to carry a real and substantial
risk". McDowell has now drafted a proposal to do just that. And
now that she's in government - Harney supports it.
The government need telling loud and clear: We don't want to be
the kind of society that denies suicidal women the choice of
abortion.
Women need more choice, not less.
The Alliance for a No Vote held a Press Conference on Wednesday,
13 February to mark the tenth anniversary of the 'X' case and to
launch their Five Reasons to Vote NO campaign. Cherish, Well
Woman and Women's Aid joined the ANV in their condemnation of the
government's Referendum. All three organisations, including the
National Women's Council and the Dublin Council of Trade Unions,
endorsed the ANV's five reasons to Vote No.
Karen Kiernan of Cherish, speaking out against the Referendum
said: "By voting No the Irish people will be protecting a woman's
life who is suicidal because she is pregnant."
The National Women's Council supported the ANV's call for a No
vote said in a statement: "Because we never again want to see a
girl or a woman before the High Court with a crisis pregnancy, we
urge everyone to vote No to this proposed Bill."
Spokeswoman for the Alliance for a No Vote, Cathleen O'Neill,
added: "Bertie Ahern is giving false assurances to women by
saying that this Referendum will protect the morning-after pill
and IUD. The Referendum gives no explicit protection and will
leave the morning-after pill and IUD open to legal challenge. The
judicial review of the morning-after pill by SPUC in Britain
shows exactly what could happen.
The only thing this Referendum will do is endanger the lives and
health of Irish women. We call on all Irish women's, social,
community and voluntary organisations to join our call for a No
vote."
Here are five reasons to vote 'No':
This Referendum will deny women who are suicidal as a result of a
crisis pregnancy the right to have an abortion in Ireland. The
'x' case of 1992 - allowing a suicidal rape victim to have an
abortion - will be overturned.
This Referendum will criminalise women who try to perform an
abortion on themselves - and anybody who helps a woman get an
abortion in Ireland. They will face twelve years in prison.
This Referendum will restrict existing medical practice by
preventing doctors perform life-saving terminations, which will
only be allowed: in a limited number of 'approved places' where
there is an immediate risk the woman may die with no provision
for emergencies
This Referendum will not protect the morning-after pill or the
IUD from legal challenge
This Referendum will endanger the lives of women and girls by
denying Health Boards the power to take a suicidal rape victim,
like the girl in the 1997 'C' case, abroad for an abortion.
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