Our Taoiseach Really Needs a Lesson in Checking His Privilege
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Irish Examiner 12 Opinion Friday, 20.10.2017 Our Taoiseach really needs a Established 1841 Abortion law lesson in checking his privilege URELY there was someone Dr Peter Boylan, left, warned of deaths Early vote somewhere, a man even, and Prof Sabaratnam Arulkumaran willing to point out to the Taoiseach that he’s big has little time for our official abortion time storing up trouble with Irish approach. Pictures: Gareth Chaney/Collins women the way that he’s going on. undermines Take one woman, me for instance, sitting for hour after issues. The Harvey Weinstein affair hour watching the Oireachtas com- has been gripping the Western mittee on the Eighth Amendment, world, showing that even the where eminent medics, with world’s richest and seemingly most work to date decades of experience at the front- powerful women, can fall prey to line of obstetrics, make clear the the most horrendous sexual viol- absolute disservice that has been ence. If you’d a lick of political THE all-party Oireachtas committee examining Ireland’s done, and continues to be done, to sense you wouldn’t need a brand abortion law took many people by surprise when it voted Irish women. new communications unit overwhelmingly against retaining the Eighth Amendment In the background bubbling to realise this is a particularly sen- to the Constitution in its present form while still having five away is another box in the teeth for sitive topic at present; that it’s not weeks of debate on the issue to run. women — the controversy over the best optics to be getting all the In doing so, the Committee on the Eighth Amendment to pensions impacting an estimated best boy toys when it comes to the Constitution, as it was formally known, has made itself all 35,000 females who took time out showing yourself in the best light, but redundant. from the workforce before 1994, or but leaving the manner in which The committee of 22 members, which was established last worked part-time. Then yesterday, we best tackle sexual violence back April to consider the Citizens’ Assembly report on the Eighth just as we’re decompressing from in the day of the abacus and chalk- Amendment, was due to meet in public session for another the committee on the Eighth, board. This is a patriarchal deci- five weeks to continue debate on the assembly’s recommen- comes another body blow — the sion. dations as well as interrogate the broader health, social, decision not to fund a much needed At the Oireachtas committee on human rights and other issues surrounding the provision of study into the scale of sexual viol- the Eighth Amendment on Wednes- abortion services. ence in Ireland. day, Dr Peter Boylan, chair of the It is unclear what purpose the committee can now find for To borrow a phrase from the Institute of Obstetricians and itself, apart from examining the options put to it by the world of social media, our Leo Gynaecologists of Ireland, warned group’s legal adviser, barrister Nuala Butler, as further really needs a lesson in checking TDs and senators not to underesti- debate has been rendered pointless by this pre-emptive his privilege. It’s either that, or risk mate the anger of Irish women. He decision. alienating a considerable percen- agreed that Ireland is indeed a Billy Kelleher was the only Fianna Fáil member to vote in tage of half of his electorate. He “very safe place to have a baby”. favour of effectively repealing the Eighth which he did in may have bristled at the beginning But added a second half to that spite of the fact that it was his personal preference that a vote of his tenure over criticism of the sentence that many, Taoiseach on the amendment not be taken until November 22, the last number of women in his Cabinet, Varadkar included, would rather day of the current weekly sessions. His fellow party and indeed the lack of women in his ignore. That is the fact that if not members, Anne Rabbitte and James Browne, abstained, kitchen cabinet, his inner circle. for the availability of abortion while Ned O’Sullivan was absent when the vote was taken. But at this point it’s beginning to Alison to Irish women in Britain, the The decision to declare in favour of repeal midway look as if he definitely has a woman maternal mortality rate here through what was meant to be a series of serious debates issue. It may not be deliberate, or “would shoot up” because of damages the credibility of the committee and undermines its maybe it is something that is oper- women accessing illegal abortions. good work to date. ating at a subconscious level — It was clear from his contribu- It also lends credence to the assertion by Independent TD either way it’s harmful — and he O’Connor tions that Professor Sabaratnam Mattie McGrath and Senator Rónán Mullen that the commit- needs to address it. Arulkumaran, who chaired the tee’s work has become skewed in favour of abortion. The fact is that it’s easy to HSE inquiry into the death of Savi- They said: “Over 20 groups and individuals pushing for preside over something like the ta Halappanavar, and is a former abortion have been invited before the committee, while only decision to not fund a second president of the Royal College of a handful of pro-life people have been invited.” Savi (Sexual Abuse and Violence in Obstetricians and Gynaecologists In response, chairwoman Senator Catherine Noone Ireland) study when you’re as safe in the UK, has little time for the insisted the committee has been run impartially at all times as houses from the prospect of sex- official Irish approach to abortion. and pointed out that both McGrath and Mullen had been ual violence yourself, and don’t ap- He pointed out that making abor- given extra time to speak at meetings on several occasions. pear to feel an empathy with those tion illegal serves only to promote However, now that the committee has shown its hand before who are at risk. This is a position of tion. This is the international VIDEO:AUDIO :LIVE BLOGS :PHOTOS Taoiseach had told the Dáil he illegal abortions. He referred to the the issue was fully debated, all that is left for discussion is privilege when you consider that at benchmark for tackling violence would not rule out a second study. outrageous 14-year prison sentence mostly logistical — whether there should be a straight full re- least one in five women in Ireland against women. However in order Of course, by not funding Savi for any woman or girl who accesses peal with the Oireachtas having the final say, a partial repeal, experience domestic or sexual to ratify the Convention we need a Haveyour say the Government has the added an illegal abortion here, as pro- or replacing the Eighth with a new amendment. abuse during their lifetime. While gold standard in data collection, on this issue at bonus of being able to underesti- vided for in the Protection of Life Whatever side one might take on whether we need a we know certain facts about these surveys and research. irishexaminer.com mate the investment needed to help During Pregnancy Act, asking: less restrictive abortion regime in Ireland or not, work by the issues, there are huge gaps in our The decision not to fund a new and counsel those who have been “Can you imagine putting those Citizens’ Assembly and the Oireachtas committee has been knowledge and at an official level Savi report essentially means victims of sexual violence, 4,800 women in prison?” One can- useful in bringing discussion of this important moral issue these are being exacerbated rather that victims of rape and domestic overwhelmingly women. As we not imagine that but one doesn’t into the open. For some individuals, this public discourse than tackled. abuse are not counted unless they know many women never come for- have to imagine too hard to see how has facilitated a journey of self-discovery, moving from an With the controversies sur- officially report their crime or are study was carried out. The pre- ward to report such a crime so do a few women could end up being entrenched position on abortion to a more nuanced one. rounding so many other areas of recorded by a charity. Yesterday, vious justice minister, Frances not appear on official figures. imprisoned for just such a thing, Sadly, the latest move by the Oireachtas committee on the their statistics, unsurprisingly hardly coincidentally, the Rape Fitzgerald, had given a commit- There appears to have been a why else have it as a reality on the Eighth has done the opposite. An Garda Síochána are not up Crisis Network of Ireland an- ment to fund a new one but the cur- pass the parcel element to this situ- statute books? Just as you don’t to scratch on domestic violence, nounced it would not be publishing rent minister, Charlie Flanagan, ation, with various members of need to stretch your imagination to or to put it another way, seriously statistics on the experiences of sur- has just reneged on that. You might Cabinet being asked to give funds see women officially targeted in unreliable. But they are not the vivors of sexual abuse for 2016 be- well wonder what is the whopping towards the study. Social Protec- the area of pensions or sexual viol- Brexit negotiations only ones. We actually do not know cause of huge cuts to its funding.