(Ireland) Abortion guidelines North and South deny women their rights under law
The Irish Times
Abortion guidelines North and South deny women their rights under law
Opinion: In both jurisdictions, a frantic ‘pro-life’ rearguard action has persuaded politicians to back off from meaningful change
(excerpt)
Liberal stance
Unwillingness to face down the “pro-life” lobby was again evident in the run-up to last April’s local and European elections. “Pro-life” group Precious Life, angered by Sinn Féin’s relatively liberal stance in the South, included the party in its list of “pro-abortion” groups to be shunned at the polls. The party responded with a statement saying: “We are not pro-choice and we are not in favour of abortion [other than] where a pregnant woman’s life is in danger . . . This is a position shared by the SDLP and the DUP and Catholic bishop John McAreavey.”
The statement was withdrawn when the bishop challenged the depiction of his position and complained about being drawn into a political wrangle.
Succession of judgments
The legal position remains as established by Bourne. The Northern courts’ interpretation of Bourne has been set out in a succession of judgments, including in the 1993 K case in which Mr Justice Shiel ruled that a pregnant 14-year-old threatening suicide was legally entitled to an abortion because “to allow the pregnancy to continue to full term would result in [the girl] being a physical and mental wreck.”
No doctor could be found to provide the girl with the legal procedure. She had her abortion in England....
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