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The 2013 Irish Legislation on Abortion: Turning-Point Or Missed Opportunity?
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND GALWAY European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation A.Y. 2013/2014 The 2013 Irish legislation on abortion: turning-point or missed opportunity? A critical analysis from a human rights perspective Author: Chiara Cosentino Supervisor: Noelle Higgins Ackowledgements I would like to thank Noelle Higgins, from the NUI of Galway, for the supervision of the present work and for her precise and insightful comments and suggestions. Furthermore, I would like to deeply thank the contacted civil society organisations that kindly and enthusiastically agreed on allowing me to steal a bit of their time for interviews. They were fundamental for my analysis, for the perception from the ground they gave me, and for the global picture that I could capture from their different angles of perspective on the topic. In particular I would love to thank for their availability Richie Keane (Coordinator of Doctors For Choice), Sinéad Corcoran (member of the Policy and Advocacy Team of Abortion Right Campaign), Kelly Mackey (from the Campaign Office of Amnesty International Ireland), Maeve Taylor (Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer of the Irish Family Planning Association) and Dette McLoughlin, John Walshe and Joseph Loughnane (members of Galway Pro-Choice). I would also like to thank my family, my parents, my sister and my grandmother for their unconditional support, and for making my participation in this Master possible, both with their practical help and love. I missed them throughout this year, but we all know that, wherever I am, they are always in my heart. Moreover, I would like to thank all my friends, old and new, for what they mean and they will always mean to me. -
Submission to the Citizens' Assembly
Submission to the Citizens’ Assembly SUBMISSION TO THE CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY TABLE OF CONTENTS The Abortion Rights Campaign 4 Introduction 5 Repealing the 8th Amendment 6 Why we should repeal the 8th 7 The reality of abortion in Ireland 9 The reality of the 8th Amendment in Ireland 12 International Condemnation 13 Free, Safe, Legal 15 Why we need free, safe, legal abortion access 16 Availability in the public health system 17 Abortion on request 18 Gestational limits 19 Decriminalisation 21 Conscientious objection 23 Conclusion 26 Let women choose 27 Abortion Stories 28 3 THE ABORTION RIGHTS CAMPAIGN The Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC) is a grassroots movement for choice and change in Ireland. We organise the annual March for Choice, which this year saw 20,000 people take to the streets of Dublin to demand a change to Ireland’s abortion laws. We aim to promote broad national support for a referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment and the introduction of free, safe and legal abortion access in the State. We believe women can be trusted to choose, and we aim to ensure the health and rights of women in Ireland are protected in line with international best practice and human rights standards. We welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Citizens’ Assembly during its consideration of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. 4 INTRODUCTION As the largest grassroots pro-choice organisation in Ireland, we represent those people directly affected by the 8th Amendment. We represent the 12 women each day who leave Irish shores to access standard medical care. -
The Pro-Choice Movement in Ireland Áine Ní Mhainnín
mhAinnín | Pro Choice 38 mhAinnín | Pro Choice The power of women’s voices: the pro-choice movement in Ireland ÁIne ní mhaInnín avita Halappanavar was 31 years old. Originally from India, she moved to the west of Ireland to be Swith her husband, Praveen. On 21st October 2012, she and Praveen arrived at University College Hospital Galway. Savita was 17 weeks pregnant and suffering from back pain. Told she was miscar- - fused each time, once given the reason that Ireland was a ‘Catholic country’. Finally, after Savita had spent 2 ½ days in agony, the foetal heartbeat stopped and the foetus was removed. Savita died on 28 October 2012. Her death was recorded as a result of severe sepsis, E. coli in the bloodstream and a miscarriage at 17 weeks. Having returned from Savita’s funeral in India, Praveen recounted her story to the Irish Times. It was woman to die through refusing her a termination, was receiving global attention. That evening, within only a few hours of the story being posted, several hundred attended a vigil outside the Dáil (Irish rallies did not occur in a bubble, but have been the focal point of a change of mood over the last year or so in relation to a woman’s right to choose. Ireland’s barbaric position came about through the suc- cess of anti-choice lobby groups in blurring the distinction between Church and State, resulting in a Background The 1861 Offences Against the Person Act prohibited the procurement of a miscarriage within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. -
Women's Legal Landmarks
Women’s Legal Landmarks Celebrating the History of Women and Law in the UK and Ireland Edited by Erika Rackley and Rosemary Auchmuty HART PUBLISHING Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Kemp House , Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford , OX2 9PH , UK HART PUBLISHING, the Hart/Stag logo, BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2019 Reprinted 2019 Copyright © The editors and contributors severally 2019 The editors and contributors have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identifi ed as Authors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this work, no responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any statement in it can be accepted by the authors, editors or publishers. All UK Government legislation and other public sector information used in the work is Crown Copyright © . All House of Lords and House of Commons information used in the work is Parliamentary Copyright © . This information is reused under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 ( http://www. nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 ) except where otherwise stated. All Eur-lex material used in the work is © European Union, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/ , 1998–2019. -
Human Rights Compliant Framework for Abortion in Ireland
16 December 2016 Amnesty International Ireland HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLIANT FRAMEWORK FOR ABORTION IN IRELAND Submission to the Citizens’ Assembly DEFINITIONS International human rights treaty: also sometimes called a Covenant or a Convention, is adopted by the international community of States, normally at the United Nations General Assembly. Each treaty sets out a range of human rights, and corresponding obligations which are legally binding on States that have ratified the treaty. Treaty monitoring body: each of the international human rights treaties is monitored by a designated treaty monitoring body. The treaty monitoring bodies are committees composed of independent experts. Their main function is to monitor the States’ compliance with the treaty in question, including through the examination of State reports. General comments/recommendations: a treaty monitoring body’s interpretation of the con- tent of human rights provisions on thematic issues or its methods of work. General com- ments seek to clarify the reporting duties of State parties with respect to certain provisions and suggest approaches to implementing treaty provisions. Concluding observations: following submission of a State report and a constructive di- alogue with the State party to the particular convention, treaty monitoring bodies issue concluding observations to the reporting State, which are compiled in an annual report and sent to the United Nations General Assembly. Human rights standards: the meaning and scope of human rights as interpreted and applied by the human rights bodies tasked with this work, e.g. international, regional and national courts, and human rights committees. Drawn from the World Health Organisation’s Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems, second edition (2012) Human Rights Compliant Framework for Abortion in Ireland - Submission to the Citizens’ Assembly CONTENTS DEFINITIONS............................................................................................................................ -
Discourse and Power in Ireland's Repeal the 8Th Movement
Interface: a journal for and about social movements Article Volume 13 (1): 193 – 224 (July 2021) McKimmons and Caffrey, Ireland’s Repeal movement Discourse and power in Ireland’s Repeal the 8th movement Elaine McKimmons and Louise Caffrey Abstract Understanding the success of social movements in terms of their situatedness in the social and historical context is a necessary direction for social movement research. In Ireland, much of the research on reproductive rights activism since the 2018 referendum that legalised abortion has examined distinct aspects of the movement that might be improved going forward. The present study endeavoured to examine the discursive strategies used by the Repeal campaign. Qualitative data, collected from 23 activists from the ‘Repeal the 8th Campaign’ at a critical moment in time - ten months before the referendum - were subjected to critical discourse analysis. Situating the Repeal movement within a theoretical framework, we propose that initial pro-choice activism since 1983 maintained the abeyant movement until the receptive environment re-opened. From 2012 to 2018 pro-choice activists capitalised on the newly receptive environment to remove Article 40.3.3 from the Constitution of Ireland successfully. Findings demonstrate how activists created social change by mainstreaming discursive categories that were not previously culturally dominant, drawing on discourses of feminism, modernity versus traditionalism and approaches of strategic consciousness-raising. Keywords: Feminism, Pro-choice Activism, Repeal the 8th, Intersectionality, Social Movement Lifecycle, Critical Discourse Analysis. Introduction In 1983, the Irish public voted to enact the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution (Article 40.3.3). The Eighth amendment was deemed by Irish law to make abortion illegal in all cases – except where there was a ‘real and substantial risk to the life of the mother’ (Attorney General v. -
Heresa Morrow: RTÉ One TV: the Late Late Show: 8Th Jan 2016…………………………….81
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Broadcasting Complaint Decisions September 2016 Broadcasting Complaint Decisions Contents BAI Complaints Handling Process Page 4 Upheld by the BAI Compliance Committee 26/16 - Mr. Francis Clauson: TV3: ‘The Power to Power Ourselves’ (Advert): 10th Jan 2016………………5 27/16 - Mr. Francis Clauson: RTÉ One TV: ‘The Power to Power Ourselves’ (Advert): 16th Jan 2016….…9 29/16 - Intro Matchmaking: Sunshine 106.8: Two’s Company (Advert):16th Feb 2016…………….………13 Rejected by the BAI Compliance Committee 7/16 - Mr. Brendan Burgess: RTÉ One TV: Ireland’s Great Wealth Divide: 21st Sept 2015……………….16 13/16 - Mr. Martin Hawkes: RTÉ One TV: Prime Time: 3rd Dec 2015……………………………………….23 15/16 - An Taisce: RTÉ One TV: Prime Time: 3rd Dec 2015………………………………………………….28 30/16 - Mr. Pawel Rydzewski: RTÉ One TV: The Late Late Show: 22nd Jan 2016…………………………38 32/16 - Mr Séamus Enright: TV3: TV3 Leaders’ Debate: 11th Feb 2016………………………………….…41 35/16 - Mr. John Flynn: RTÉ One TV: The Late Late Show: 19th Feb 2016…………………………………45 37/16 - Mr. Enda Fanning: RTÉ One TV: The Late Late Show: 19th Feb 2016……………………………48 Rejected by the Executive Complaints Forum 8-10/16 - Mr. Brendan O’ Regan: Newstalk: The Pat Kenny Show: 2nd – 4th Dec 2015……………………52 19/16 - Ms. Patricia Kearney: RTÉ Radio 1: When Dave Met Bob: 29th Dec 2015…………………………58 21/16 – Ms. Mary Jo Gilligan: RTÉ Radio 1: The Ray D’Arcy Show: 14th Nov 2015………………………61 22/16 - Mr. Brendan O’ Regan: Newstalk: Lunchtime: 30th Nov 2015…………………………………….…64 23/16 - Mr. Brendan O’ Regan: Newstalk: The Pat Kenny Show: 1st Dec 2015………………………….…64 25/16 - Mr. -
CEDAW) (13-15 February 2017): Supplementary Submission
Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (13-15 February 2017): Supplementary Submission Reporting Organisation The Abortion Rights Campaign advocates for ‘free, safe and legal’ abortion access in Ireland. We are a national grassroots movement for choice and change. We believe that Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws are an injustice, as they deny women and girls1 access to the full realisation of the right to health and create a system of inequality whereby women and girls with the means can access abortion services abroad, while marginalised women cannot. They are forced to continue their pregnancies or resort to illegal and possibly unsafe means of procuring abortions. We promote broad national support for a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which introduced the right to life of the unborn into our laws. We believe that access to abortion must align with human rights standards and norms in order to ensure that the health and rights of women and girls in pregnancy are respected, protected and fulfilled. We would draw the Committee’s attention to our previous submission, which was made on 16 October 2015. The current document will serve to inform the Committee about relevant issues that have arisen in the State Party since this date. Since the 2015 submission, there have been a number of developments in Ireland’s situation regarding abortion. These included widespread denigration of Irish restrictions on abortion by other State Parties under its 2016 Universal Periodic Review, landmark rulings by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in relation to the discriminatory and cruel nature of the law, findings by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) on the unworkable nature of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, rulings by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland effectively silencing certain voices from public discourse on abortion and the establishment of a Citizen’s Assembly to discuss the future of the Eighth Amendment. -
Constitutionalizing Fetal Rights : a Salutary Tale from Ireland.', Michigan Journal of Gender and the Law., 22 (2)
Durham Research Online Deposited in DRO: 21 April 2015 Version of attached le: Accepted Version Peer-review status of attached le: Peer-reviewed Citation for published item: de Londras, Fiona (2015) 'Constitutionalizing fetal rights : a salutary tale from Ireland.', Michigan journal of gender and the law., 22 (2). pp. 243-289. Further information on publisher's website: http://repository.law.umich.edu/mjgl/vol22/iss2/1 Publisher's copyright statement: Additional information: Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Durham University Library, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LY, United Kingdom Tel : +44 (0)191 334 3042 | Fax : +44 (0)191 334 2971 https://dro.dur.ac.uk CONSTITUTIONALIZING FETAL RIGHTS: A SALUTARY TALE FROM IRELAND Fiona de Londras I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 II. Abortion in Ireland: The Current Legal Regime ............................................................. 4 III. The Constitutionalization of Fetal Rights -
1142120 Report of the Trustees and Financial
REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 07017607 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1142120 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2020 FOR ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2020 Page Report of the Trustees X to XX Independent Examiner's Report XX Statement of Financial Activities XX Balance Sheet XX Notes to the Financial Statements XX to XX Detailed Statement of Financial Activities XX to xx ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2020 The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st December 2020. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2020). OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims The objects of Abortion Support Network are to relieve the financial hardship of people facing an unwanted pregnancy who are forced to travel to access a safe, legal abortion. We exist to help people who are forced to leave their country of residence in order to access safe, legal abortion care that they should be able to get at home. We were set up originally in 2009 to support the many people travelling to England from Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. -
Ireland: Amnesty International's Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
IRELAND SUBMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN 66TH SESSION, 13 FEBRUARY - 3 MARCH 2017 Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. © Amnesty International 2017 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2017 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: EUR 29/5543/2017 Original language: English a mnesty.org CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 4 2. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 4 2.2 SEX WORKERS 5 3. ABORTION 6 3.1 RISK TO LIFE 7 3.2 FREEDOM TO TRAVEL 7 3.3 INFORMATION ON ABORTION 8 3.4 CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION 8 3.5 POSSIBLE LAW REFORM IN IRELAND 9 4. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PAST INSTITUTIONAL ABUSES 11 IRELAND SUBMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN Amnesty International 3 1. -
Abortion As a Workplace Issue: Trade Union Survey - North and South of Ireland
Commissioned by A TRADE UNION SURVEY NORTH & SOUTH OF IRELAND Authors Conducted by Fiona Bloomer Ulster University Johanne Devlin Trew Claire Pierson Noirin MacNamara Danielle Mackle Acknowledgements The research team and steering group would like to express their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all who took part in the study. In particular, we would like to express our gratitude to those who told us their personal stories. We know that for many of you this was the first time you had told anyone your story outside your immediate family and friends. Thank you for trusting us with your experiences. We would also like to thank those that funded the research: Unite the Union, Unison, Mandate Trade Union, the CWU Ireland and the GMB supported the project throughout by encouraging participation among union members. The research team would also like to thank Caitlin McKernan, placement student from BSc Health and Social Care Policy degree (Ulster University), who assisted with data analysis. Steering group members Therese Caherty (Trade Union Campaign to Repeal the 8th1) Emma Campbell (Alliance for Choice2) Laura Duggan (Trade Union Campaign to Repeal the 8th/Unite) Mandy La Combre (Mandate Trade Union/Trade Union Campaign to Repeal the 8th) Kellie O’Dowd (Alliance for Choice) Carol Scheffer (CWU Ireland) Anne Speed (UNISON) Taryn Trainor (Unite) Denise Walker (GMB) Research Team Dr Fiona Bloomer is a lecturer in social policy at Ulster University, specialising in abortion policy. Dr Johanne Devlin Trew is a lecturer in social policy at Ulster University, specialising in migration, survey design and statistical analysis. Dr Claire Pierson is a lecturer in Politics at the University of Liverpool, specialising in gender and comparative politics.