Banning abortion does not stop abortion

national | rights, freedoms and repression | feature Thursday March 20, 2008 00:05 by safe legal and rare

Ban instead results in "traumatic and more dangerous" situations for women

Nothing to be ashamed of

The Council of Europe has called on Ireland to decriminalise abortion.

This week , the Council of Europe's Committee on Equal Opportunities issued a report saying all member states should guarantee women the right to a safe termination of pregnancy.

The report states quite clearly: “the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men considers that a ban on abortions does not result in fewer abortions, but mainly leads to clandestine abortions, which are more traumatic and more dangerous.”

Some people estimate that the number of Irish women who travel to England every year is about 7,000. Since some women obviously use false British addresses, or disguise their origins in other ways, the true figure can never be known.

Related Links: Choice Ireland — Irish Family Planning Association — Safe and Legal Abortion Rights Campaign I had an abortion

This means that women who should be under medical supervision are having to travel, stressfully having to go through finding money for flights and clinics and hotels when they should be concerned about their health.

No one knows how many clandestine abortions are taking place in Ireland, and except in very gruesome and exceptional circumstances, we rarely hear of the risks to their own health that women undergo trying to cause miscarriages. It's not known how many women are leaving Ireland to go to other countries in Europe to have abortions either.

What the ban in Ireland does not do is prevent abortions.

There are also, of course, no figures on births which happen as a result of the ban of abortion, because no one gathers any statistics. It seems unlikely that very many children have ever been born as a result of the ban, but a huge number of women have undergone pain and distress because of it.

Since it is clear that the ban is not having the effect of preventing abortions, but is causing pain and distress to Irish citizens, many people have argued that it is hard to see why it is not overturned.

The Council of Europe report recommends that all 47 countries who are member states of the Council of Europe, should guarantee women the right to have an abortion and promote cheaper contraception, along with compulsory sex education in schools, to try to reduce the number of women who seek abortions.

“Abortion on request is, in theory, available in all Council of Europe member states, except Andorra, Malta, Ireland and Poland," states Austrian elected representative Gisela Wurm, who wrote the brief introduction to the resolution on behalf of the committee.

The report is quite clear on who should decide whether a woman has an abortion:

"The Assembly affirms the right of all human beings, women included, to respect for their physical integrity and to freedom to control their own bodies. In this context, the ultimate decision on whether or not to have an abortion should be a matter for the woman concerned, and she should have the means of exercising this right in an effective way."

However, access to abortion is not easy for all women, and the committee sees the fact that there are restrictions on information or assistance towards a decision as an instance of discrimination:

"These restrictions have discriminatory effects, since women who are well-informed and possess adequate financial means can often obtain legal and safe abortions more easily."

The report will be discussed during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe between April 14th and 18th.

Read the full report and Gisella Wurm's introduction here: http://tinyurl.com/2lva5a

For information on the law relating to abortion in Ireland click here: http://www.ifpa.ie/services/abort.html