Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Kneecap ?Two-Tier Justice? Row After Glastonbury Case Dropped by Police Fri Jul 18, 2025 17:00 | Will Jones
Police have closed the criminal investigation into Kneecap?s Glastonbury performance, where the band called for a "riot outside court", prompting criticism of "two-tier justice" by the Shadow Home Secretary.
The post Kneecap ‘Two-Tier Justice’ Row After Glastonbury Case Dropped by Police appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Epping Protesters Have Had Enough of Being Ignored and Lied To Fri Jul 18, 2025 15:00 | David Shipley
Last night's violence in Epping is the desperate cry of people who have been ignored for decades, says David Shipley. Violence must be condemned. But if the state doesn?t change course, and fast, we will see many Eppings.
The post The Epping Protesters Have Had Enough of Being Ignored and Lied To appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link From Vaccine Passports in 2021 to ?Britcard? in 2025 ? Why We Need a Digital Bill of Rights Fri Jul 18, 2025 13:00 | Alan Miller
From vaccine passports in 2021 to 'Britcard' digital ID in 2025, it's becoming clear we need a Digital Bill of Rights to protect us from being brought under the technocratic grip of a surveillance state, says Alan Miller.
The post From Vaccine Passports in 2021 to ‘Britcard’ in 2025 ? Why We Need a Digital Bill of Rights appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why is Modernity so Ugly? Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:00 | Joanna Gray
Why is the modern world so unremittingly ugly, wonders Joanna Gray. As yet another interchangeable block of beige bricks springs up in town, the contrast with the glories of the structures our ancestors built is damning.
The post Why is Modernity so Ugly? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Climate Consensus Died in Parliament This Week Fri Jul 18, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile
This was the week that the climate consensus died in Parliament, says Ben Pile. In the debate that followed Ed Miliband's statement on "nature and climate" something new was heard in the House of Commons: dissent.
The post The Climate Consensus Died in Parliament This Week appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Banning abortion does not stop abortion

category national | rights, freedoms and repression | feature author Thursday March 20, 2008 00:05author by safe legal and rare Report this post to the editors

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

featured image
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.



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

The video shows a protest at a Dublin family planning clinic last month.

Related Link: http://tinyurl.com/2lva5a

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   save the born     Diduever    Wed Mar 19, 2008 22:19 
   T-shirt?     ellen    Wed Mar 19, 2008 23:36 
   T-shirt     slr    Thu Mar 20, 2008 00:53 
   Is this the way?     Ilenia    Thu Mar 20, 2008 01:27 
   havinng to travel is the problem, not abortion     SLR    Thu Mar 20, 2008 02:11 
   ..........and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!     t-shirt??????    Thu Mar 20, 2008 03:43 
   chinese equal opportunities     O'Chan    Thu Mar 20, 2008 05:27 
   re: last comment.     helpful    Thu Mar 20, 2008 06:23 
   Monbiot column     Cathal    Thu Mar 20, 2008 08:46 
 10   Response to : 'havinng to travel is the problem, not abortion'     Ilenia    Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:27 
 11   Netherlands     anonymous    Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:53 
 12   response     S,L,R    Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:33 
 13   response     Ilenia    Thu Mar 20, 2008 16:50 
 14   Referendum     Andrew    Thu Mar 20, 2008 18:25 
 15   what is right and what is wrong     Wisdo    Thu Mar 20, 2008 23:54 
 16   let's get above T-shirts and soundbytes.     Reece Eikling    Fri Mar 21, 2008 01:17 
 17   You can ban drink and driving too,but.....     We the People    Fri Mar 21, 2008 17:50 
 18   From Today with Pat Kenny     Mark C    Fri Mar 21, 2008 21:48 
 19   being moral about other people's lives is not preventing abortions     slR    Fri Mar 21, 2008 22:13 
 20   FYI     Don    Fri Mar 21, 2008 22:49 
 21   Same people, same moral arguments     slr    Sat Mar 22, 2008 19:03 
 22   Anti-Abortion Protestors in Dublin     Paul    Sun Mar 23, 2008 17:38 
 23   graphics     Carl    Sun Mar 23, 2008 21:58 
 24   Except     Andrew    Sun Mar 23, 2008 23:55 
 25   Reply to Don     Elisa    Mon Mar 24, 2008 13:20 
 26   Elisa     Don    Mon Mar 24, 2008 15:41 
 27   Come on now     Mike    Wed Mar 26, 2008 16:22 
 28   Correcting Don     Mary O Flynn    Wed Mar 26, 2008 16:41 
 29   motherhood     lulu    Wed Mar 26, 2008 18:14 
 30   not feeling guilty     Siobhan    Wed Mar 26, 2008 18:36 
 31   Need for discussion     C.    Wed Mar 26, 2008 19:46 
 32   Medical procedures!     anon.    Thu Mar 27, 2008 16:34 
 33   you can't end something before it begins     get real    Thu Mar 27, 2008 17:56 
 34   right to abortion     rationalist    Thu Mar 27, 2008 22:21 
 35   Illegal abortion still offers the choice     Paul    Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:01 
 36   concomitantly     plum    Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:23 
 37   again     C.    Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:56 
 38   Ectopic pregnancies     Pro-lifer    Tue Jul 21, 2009 22:53 
 39   "Pro Lifer"     Dorothy Gale    Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:45 
 40   intention and effect     Philly    Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:03 
 41   Double Effect?     Dorothy Gale    Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:13 
 42   Humpty -Dumpty? You have made my words mean what YOU want.     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 15:55 
 43   pro-lifer     DorothyGale    Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:08 
 44   Read my post again     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:30 
 45   Sigh all you want     Dorothy Gale    Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:42 
 46   Sigh again     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:22 
 47   Progress     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:24 
 48   Which cases?     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:31 
 49   "prolifer"     Dorothy Gale    Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:35 
 50   Don Quixote     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:51 
 51   "lifer"     Dorothy Gale    Wed Jul 22, 2009 18:16 
 52   At last, down to some specifics     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 19:49 
 53   Unwanted     Pro-lifer    Wed Jul 22, 2009 20:02 
 54   a few thoughts on the matter     SpreadYourGenes    Thu Jul 23, 2009 04:16 
 55   Get a grip     Disco    Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:06 
 56   Miss C speaks to RTE     Pro-lifer    Mon Jul 27, 2009 01:15 
 57   Miss C....     Disco    Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:20 
 58   Irish abortion laws breach human rights, court rules     Irish Times Reader    Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:13 
 59   on the subject of abortion     sean    Thu Dec 16, 2010 18:13 
 60   Sad indeed     nnnn    Thu Dec 16, 2010 18:33 
 61   on abortion     sean    Thu Dec 16, 2010 18:47 
 62   This is all a convenient and cynical distraction     AuntyProLife    Fri Dec 17, 2010 19:51 


Number of comments per page
  
 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy