Cora Sherlock says top maternity care here makes abortion redundant and says the procedure can actually cause women to take their lives.
European Court of Human Rights has called on Ireland to clarify its laws on abortion.
THE 20 years since the Supreme Court’s X Case decision have seen dramatic changes in Irish society, but the abortion debate remains a fraught one.
The court decision was to interpret Article 40.3.3 as allowing abortion where there was a "real and substantial" risk to the life of the woman, including the threat of suicide. This decision was hailed by some as the "compassionate" outcome.
THE 20 years since the Supreme Court’s X Case decision have seen dramatic changes in Irish society, but the abortion debate remains a fraught one.
The court decision was to interpret Article 40.3.3 as allowing abortion where there was a "real and substantial" risk to the life of the woman, including the threat of suicide. This decision was hailed by some as the "compassionate" outcome.
Tragically, the ruling, however well-intentioned, seriously undermined the legal protection afforded to unborn children. And it did this on the basis of very flimsy evidence.
The court heard no medical evidence. It based its conclusions as to the risk of suicide on the testimony of a single psychologist, and heard no psychiatric evidence. Neither did it hear any evidence on the question of how the Irish medical profession treats pregnant women.
But the medical evidence is increasingly showing that abortion may, in fact, lead to an increased risk of suicide and mental health problems generally.
A study from Finland published in the European Journal of Public Health reveals that women are six times more likely to commit suicide after having an abortion compared with those who carry their pregnancies to term.
Recent research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry shows that women who had abortions are 30% more likely to have serious mental health problems than other women.
Today’s Ireland is very different to the Ireland of 1992. But the Irish public continue to support the right to life of the unborn when they are reassured that women continue to receive the medical treatment they need during pregnancy.
Perhaps this is why those who seek to legalise abortion, such as Socialist Party TD Clare Daly, seek to obscure the fact that Ireland is the safest place in the world to give birth.
Her Private Members Bill before the Dáil falsely implies that women in Ireland are denied lifesaving medical treatments because abortion is not available here.
But UN figures show Ireland to be a world leader when it comes to protecting pregnant women. Time and again, international statistics show that Ireland has the lowest number of maternal deaths in the world.
It is sad that some of our politicians feel the need to distort this achievement for ideological gain, and that this deception is not being properly exposed.
Abortion is often presented as being "pro-woman", but what abortion advocates refuse to confront is the devastating impact abortion has had on many women. In 1997, we were convulsed by the C case, involving a young girl made pregnant through rape. Again, the courts decided that the "compassionate" solution was to send the girl to the UK for an abortion. But 12 years later, the woman at the centre of the case spoke of her devastation and deep regret at having the abortion.
Stories like hers are part of the reality of abortion, but they are seldom heard. Instead, they are silenced through lack of media attention, or dismissed by those who should be looking to listen to all women.
Last year, Women Hurt, a group of women who regret their abortions, launched an ad campaign to break the silence. Disgracefully, their experiences were belittled by the National Women’s Council.
Earlier this year, the Government established a review body to assess Ireland’s abortion law in the wake of the call by the European Court of Human Rights for our abortion law to be clarified. There will be many aspects of the issue for the group to consider. But if it is to come to an informed conclusion, the group must consider the experiences of these women.
It must also acknowledge the medical facts that Ireland is the safest place in the world for women to give birth and that the evidence increasingly suggests there are serious mental health risks associated with abortion.
It should also look at what happens to medical practice in countries which have legalised abortion. For example in Britain, some children survive abortion.
A report by Confidential Inquiry into Maternal and Child Health in 2008 found that 66 babies had survived in one year. These babies were killed, as per standard British medical policy.
Current Irish medical practice is pro-woman and pro-child. Let’s keep it that way.
* Cora Sherlock is a spokeswoman for the Pro Life Campaign
The court heard no medical evidence. It based its conclusions as to the risk of suicide on the testimony of a single psychologist, and heard no psychiatric evidence. Neither did it hear any evidence on the question of how the Irish medical profession treats pregnant women.
But the medical evidence is increasingly showing that abortion may, in fact, lead to an increased risk of suicide and mental health problems generally.
A study from Finland published in the European Journal of Public Health reveals that women are six times more likely to commit suicide after having an abortion compared with those who carry their pregnancies to term.
Recent research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry shows that women who had abortions are 30% more likely to have serious mental health problems than other women.
Today’s Ireland is very different to the Ireland of 1992. But the Irish public continue to support the right to life of the unborn when they are reassured that women continue to receive the medical treatment they need during pregnancy.
Perhaps this is why those who seek to legalise abortion, such as Socialist Party TD Clare Daly, seek to obscure the fact that Ireland is the safest place in the world to give birth.
Her Private Members Bill before the Dáil falsely implies that women in Ireland are denied lifesaving medical treatments because abortion is not available here.
But UN figures show Ireland to be a world leader when it comes to protecting pregnant women. Time and again, international statistics show that Ireland has the lowest number of maternal deaths in the world.
It is sad that some of our politicians feel the need to distort this achievement for ideological gain, and that this deception is not being properly exposed.
Abortion is often presented as being "pro-woman", but what abortion advocates refuse to confront is the devastating impact abortion has had on many women. In 1997, we were convulsed by the C case, involving a young girl made pregnant through rape. Again, the courts decided that the "compassionate" solution was to send the girl to the UK for an abortion. But 12 years later, the woman at the centre of the case spoke of her devastation and deep regret at having the abortion.
Stories like hers are part of the reality of abortion, but they are seldom heard. Instead, they are silenced through lack of media attention, or dismissed by those who should be looking to listen to all women.
Last year, Women Hurt, a group of women who regret their abortions, launched an ad campaign to break the silence. Disgracefully, their experiences were belittled by the National Women’s Council.
Earlier this year, the Government established a review body to assess Ireland’s abortion law in the wake of the call by the European Court of Human Rights for our abortion law to be clarified. There will be many aspects of the issue for the group to consider. But if it is to come to an informed conclusion, the group must consider the experiences of these women.
It must also acknowledge the medical facts that Ireland is the safest place in the world for women to give birth and that the evidence increasingly suggests there are serious mental health risks associated with abortion.
It should also look at what happens to medical practice in countries which have legalised abortion. For example in Britain, some children survive abortion.
A report by Confidential Inquiry into Maternal and Child Health in 2008 found that 66 babies had survived in one year. These babies were killed, as per standard British medical policy.
Current Irish medical practice is pro-woman and pro-child. Let’s keep it that way.
* Cora Sherlock is a spokeswoman for the Pro Life Campaign