Extend the 1967 Abortion Act to N.Ireland

by Pro-Choice Activist Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:45

I went (as one does) to extend my solidarity and sign the petition, alas, I am neither a British
citizen or resident.

I would point out to the organisers that a new petition is needed the Polish petition was
extended globally when the nasty Rightwing LPR/PIS attempted to criminalise women
for seeking their human rights.

Please think of the solidarity wishes of those of us in the 26 counties who wish to
show support (cos we are in the same situation as N.i women, funny that muscular christianity
stuff)

http://www.safeandlegalinireland.blogspot.com
http://www.choiceireland.blogspot.com
http://www.choiceireland.org

No Pasaran! - They really like to build their wealth up on repression of women.

by pro sanity Tue Oct 07, 2008 18:41

the '67 UK law according to new evidence is out of date- the best studies are those coming out of norway and finland (which have abortion up to 18 weeks a full 6 weeks less than the UK act) Most countries that have abortion do it up to 12 weeks (denmark, russia, germany, italy) half the UK
The UK has the latest abortion law in Europe- there seems to be very little awareness of what actually goes on behind closed doors of the abortion industry.

by AM Wed Oct 08, 2008 06:23

Cite for the above please

by reaper Wed Oct 08, 2008 16:25

It seems evasive of a deeper issue to quibble about international differences between 18 and 12 weeks. So many 'rights' discussions in Ireland hinge on the question: if countries X and Y have such laws why can't we? They have it, we want it too. It's like sibling children whinging over boiled sweets.

by time and weeks Tue Oct 14, 2008 00:13

the differences in european laws on time and weeks are hugely important-you should study foetology to understand the difference-it also makes a big difference to mental health of women-generally the later the abortion the greater the likelyhood of suffering post-abortion trauma or long term traumatic grief

by AM Tue Oct 14, 2008 07:33

Different time limits lead to abortion tourism as women who were not able to obtain an abortion within their own country's time limit travel abroad. This increases the trauma to the woman and the possibility of complications as they may not be able to get adequate post-abortion care.

by reaper Tue Oct 14, 2008 08:19

These two responses to my post underline a need for counseling alternatives to abortion that would obviate the pains of post-abortion trauma.

by socialistfeminist Tue Oct 14, 2008 13:37

The following is interesting because it shows a much higher rate of female suicide post-abortion than during pregnancy in a country with far more restrictive laws than the UK- In the UK abortion for social reasons is carried out right up to 6 months (24 weeks). I would be especially interested to know if any similiar studies can tell us what's going on with UK and Irish women in relation to abortion and suicide.
Titre du document / Document title
Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94 : register linkage study
Auteur(s) / Author(s)
GISSLER M. (1) ; HEMMINKI E. (2) ; LÖNNQVIST J. (3) ;
Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)
(1) Unit of Statistics, Registers and Information Systems, National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES), PO Box 220, 00531 Helsinki, FINLANDE
(2) Health Service Research Unit, National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES), FINLANDE
(3) National Public Health Institute, Department of Mental Health, Mannerheimintie 160, 00300 Helsinki, FINLANDE

Résumé / Abstract
Objective-To determine rates of suicide associated with pregnancy by the type of pregnancy. Design-Register linkage study. Information on suicides in women of reproductive age was linked with the Finnish birth, abortion, and hospital discharge registers to find out how many women who committed suicide had had a completed pregnancy during her last year of life. Setting-Nationwide data from Finland. Subjects-Women who committed suicide in 1987-94. Results-There were 73 suicides associated with pregnancy, representing 5.4% of all suicides in women in this age group. The mean annual suicide rate was 11.3 per 100 000. The suicide rate associated with birth was significantly lower (5.9) and the rates associated with miscarriage (18.1) and induced abortion (34.7) were significantly higher than in the population. The risk associated with birth was higher among teenagers and that associated with abortion was increased in all age groups. Women who had committed a suicide tended to come from lower social classes and were more likely to be unmarried than other women who had had a completed pregnancy. Conclusions-The increased risk of suicide after an induced abortion indicates either common risk factors for both or harmful effects of induced abortion on mental health.

by eleanor Wed Oct 15, 2008 17:18 elllatheowl at hotmail dot com

Personally I'm in favour of the abortion pill and opposed to surgical abortion except for medical reasons.
180,000 a year in the UK mostly for social reasons is surely something that needs healing!
the symptoms of post-abortion trauma can include:1.Low self-esteem 2. Depression 3.Guilt 4.Grief 5.Suicidal ideation 6.Broken Relationships 6.Anger 7.Flashbacks 8.Drug/Alcohol abuse
9.Sexual dysfunction or promiscuity 10.Eating disorder (Anorexia, Bulimia) 11.Phobias
12.Atonement or replacement baby (many women become pregnant within 1 year of the abortion.
Emergency Pregnancy Counsellors report that as many as 50% of their clients have had a previous abortion.)
13.Fear for her surviving children
14. Inability to express emotions 15.Psychic numbing
16.Possible physical pain (Psychogenic/Psychosomatic pain such as cramping and cervical pain
17.Sleep disturbances (baby dreams, auditory hallucinations of an infant crying, nightmares.)
18.Hyper alertness ,19.Trouble concentrating
20.Avoidance of activities that remind her of children/abortion/pregnancy
21.Self punishment 22.Anxiety in subsequent pregnancies
23.Creation of phantom child
24.Fascination with children and birth which could become an obsession. (She may fixate on a child of a similar age to hers or fixate on a doll or some object that weighs what her aborted child would have weighed.)

by Don Wed Oct 15, 2008 20:48

Regardless of your stance on abortion, shouldnt N-IRL have the right to chose their own laws?

by lulu Wed Oct 15, 2008 21:39

Whatever your viewpoint, women will take many risks to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy; it would be best for them to have access to the 'morning after' pill & safe termination.

by AM Thu Oct 16, 2008 07:39

I suppose it depends on whether you also think Stormont had a "right" to pass laws that allowed discrimination against Catholics, or whether you thought Westminster should intervene to prevent that human rights violation. Personally I'd fall into the latter camp.

by AllianceForChoice - Alliance For Choice Thu Oct 16, 2008 13:34

The "Alliance for Choice" website has an "Action" page at: http://allianceforchoiceni.org/extend-the-act/action/ giving suggestions for those campaigning to extend the 1967 Abortion act to Northern Ireland.

There is also an "Events" page: http://AllianceForChoiceNI.org/events/ with details of upcoming meetings about extending the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern ireland.

by irish citizen Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:48

why have UK laws here, in general I think its better to copy the scandanavians on most things especially when at the next review the Brits are likely to change thier law to make it more in accordance with the rest of Europe as all the latest scientific evidence is going that way

by lemonhead Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:54

why would u want westminster making laws for ireland, the irish people should be making laws for ireland and not look like fools by always following exactly what the british lawmakers do. By that logic why not have the germans make our laws or the french which is the very reson the irish people voted no to the Lisbon treaty.

by eco-feminist Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:17

from the eco-feminist perspective herbal abortions are much healthier for women and the environment, everybody should have pennyroyal growing in close proximity to thier home to have self-control over fertility( and st.john.s wort for that matter to help with the grieving process post-termination). being able to bury the foetus in your garden is also much better for woman's psychological and spiritual wellbeing than the brave new world scenario of disposal services used in the UK.
It was recently reported in UK papers that An NHS hospital due to cuts in funding couldnt afford the crematoriam so they use the hospital waste incinerater-hardly surprising women can end up feeling worthless when our offspring are treated like waste material.

by Mr Man Sat Oct 18, 2008 05:39

What the hell is an eco-feminist? You are a feminist and and environmentalist? Why do you need a new word? If I like sociology and botany am I a socio-botanist? Or if I like fine food and running a gastro-athlete? Or if I like them all am I a socio-gastro-athleto-botanist?

Anyway.....
"being able to bury the foetus in your garden is also much better for woman's psychological and spiritual wellbeing than the brave new world scenario of disposal services used in the UK."

I dunno how true that is. Speaking as a mother, if I had an abortion and was feeling bad about it, i don't think I would want it's remains in my back garden. out of sight and out of mind etc.

"It was recently reported in UK papers that An NHS hospital due to cuts in funding couldnt afford the crematoriam so they use the hospital waste incinerater-hardly surprising women can end up feeling worthless when our offspring are treated like waste material."

What is wrong with the hospital waste incinerator? Ok, I understand there is respect issues but I mean if you want to have a respectful funeral for your clump of cells then you can pay for a funeral like everyone else.

by Plato Sat Oct 18, 2008 10:09

"What is wrong with the hospital waste incinerator? Ok, I understand there is respect issues but I mean if you want to have a respectful funeral for your clump of cells then you can pay for a funeral like everyone else. "

You can not be as cold as this comment suggests, are you? Boy do we have a knack for abusing our women.

by 21st century woman Sat Oct 18, 2008 15:41

the 'clump of cells' comment is just as ignorant as the 'tadpole' just really juvanile ignorance by people who really should study some feotology to at least have the foggiest clue what they are talking about-really we need a better education system in this country and a big improvment in understanding of biology and other modern sciences and technological advancement such as invitero video footage which is truly amazing and will eventually enlighten people

by Catlady Mon Oct 20, 2008 00:38

You asked "What the hell is an eco-feminist?"

Go look it up.

Honestly, you are embarassing yourself here. We all encounter a term we don't understand from time to time, but the usual reaction is to attempt to educate oneself rather that display one's ignorance by throwing disparaging remarks on well respected theories and their proponents.