BMJ 2019; 367 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l6330
Published November 4, 2019 by Abigail RA Aiken, assistant professor, Fiona Bloomer, lecturer
People and policy makers must now design a truly patient centred service
On 22 October 2019 abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland. This historic change followed decades of campaigning, an inquiry by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, an inquiry by the UK parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee, and numerous legal cases challenging the restricted access to abortion.
Despite being part of the UK, Northern Ireland previously stood alone in relation to abortion. The liberalising 1967 Abortion Act did not extend to Northern Ireland and attempts to do so over the past 50 years were repeatedly thwarted. Legal access to abortion was instead governed by the 1861 Offences Against the Persons Act and case law. This resulted in highly restricted provision, with an average of less than 20 abortions per year within the Northern Irish NHS. In contrast, an average of 800 women per year travelled to England, while hundreds more risked prosecution sourcing abortion medications from online providers.
Evidence and testimony
Abortion decriminalisation was proposed in July 2019 by Labour MP Stella Creasy as an amendment to a parliamentary bill dealing with governance in Northern Ireland, following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in January 2017. This move forced the UK government to introduce abortion reform in the absence of the assembly. The final content of the bill reflected recommendations made by the United Nations inquiry, which identified Northern Ireland’s abortion restrictions as a grave …
There has been a drop of up to 85% in the number of Irish women travelling to Britain for abortions, one year on since the Eighth Amendment was repealed from the Irish Constitution.
Nine women had been leaving Ireland every day to have a termination in Britain.
Cork based GP and founding member of Doctors For Choice Dr Mary Favier describes how she campaigned for many years to remove the Eight Amendment as it was harmful to Irish women’s health.
Dr Favier takes us on a moving journey from Ireland’s past, present and future showcasing the devastating struggles Irish women have faced in relation to abortions in Ireland in the past and the hope which we live in now as a result of the successful repeal of the eight amendment Dr Mary Favier is co founder of Doctors for Choice. She is a specialist in family medicine and is in practice in Cork city. She is a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She is a guest teacher on the UCC post graduate general practitioner training scheme. She has been Chair of Education in the ICGP and is currently president elect of the ICGP. She campaigned for many years to remove the Eight Amendment as it was harmful to Irish women’s health. She advocated improving clinical care by introducing early medical abortion provision in a primary care setting in Ireland.
The HSE has launched a website with information on abortion services in Ireland.
It comes after President Michael D Higgins signed the legislation to allow for abortion services in Ireland to be put into law on Thursday.
The myoptions.ie section of the HSE website details information on how to get an abortion, abortion methods, aftercare and the possible risks involved.
[..] For many people across Ireland, Savita’s name was on their mind as the final tally was called out at Dublin Castle yesterday evening. The Eighth Amendment was repealed, with an overwhelming 66.4pc of voters in favour.
The drafting of legislation will take place over the summer, with the first draft due to be tabled in the autumn.
[..] The ban on abortion was placed in the Constitution in 1983 in a preemptive move to prevent Irish women having abortions. However, it became clear over time the Eighth Amendment did not stop Irish women accessing terminations either by travelling to the UK or taking abortion pills.
In this video documentary, The Irish Times examines the Eighth Amendment’s history, its effect and its future.
BBC News, April 18, 2018 by Bruno Boelpaep and Claudia Headon
In one week’s time people in the Republic of Ireland will vote on whether they want to make changes to the country’s strict abortion laws.
It’s holding a referendum asking whether the Eighth Amendment should be repealed from its constitution. The amendment gives equal right to life for the mother and the unborn child. But do people living in Ireland’s cities see the issue differently from those living in its countryside?
‘Terminal’ a film which outlines the day in the life of someone who has to leave the country in order to have an abortion will not be shown by RTÉ until the referendum is over.
In the film “a girl and a woman meet in an airport departure gate. Just before they board a plane to Manchester, we witness a private exchange as they share the different reasons that brought them to this moment, and the traumatic journey that awaits them.”
The video opens with scenes of the young girl who is in the bath and looks upset and flips back and forth to the present day where she is stood in the terminal and seems to be waiting for a flight.
The Minister for Health has said that unregulated, unrestricted abortion is already happening in Ireland because of the availability of abortion pills.
Simon Harris was speaking at the conclusion of a debate that ran over several weeks on the report of the Oireachtas Committee that examined the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
Repealing the country’s constitutional ban on abortion may be the easy part
The Economist explains by E.O’L. (Dublin), February 2, 2018
This week’s announcement that Ireland will hold a referendum in May on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion is a sign of a huge shift in Irish society. In 1983 67% of its voters had endorsed a constitutional amendment that, in effect, banned abortion entirely, even in cases of rape, incest and fetal abnormality so severe that the baby could not live—and even when a termination was essential to save the woman’s life. Abortion in Ireland had already been illegal for more than a century, but anti-abortion activists had wanted a constitutional ban for fear that the law might in future be relaxed. Thirty-five years later not only is Leo Varadkar, the prime minister and leader of the centre-right Fine Gael party, recommending a repeal, he is also campaigning for abortion to be legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
The video developed by the Irish Family Planning Association provides accurate factual information on abortion in Ireland.
Hands On
Hands On is the TV programme for Ireland’s Deaf Community on RTÉ 1, Produced by Mind The Gap Films.
Like a Ship in the Night
a documentary by Melissa Thompson
200 women, every single week, leave this island to go to England for abortions. And yet, nobody ever talks about it...
