OPINION: ‘We Need To Stop Treating Abortion As A Dirty Word’

In Ireland, it’s rare that the word abortion is said in anything other than an apologetic, hushed tone. We might like to think that we are an emboldened and independent generation but the fact is that abortion is, and has been, treated by the majority of women in this country as a dirty word, heavy with stigma and representative of an act that must be covered up and denied at all costs. Wherever you stand on the issue, there is no denying that the cloak of silence surrounding abortion in Ireland is having an atrocious effect on the welfare of thousands of women each year. And chances are, you know at least one. According to figures from the British Department Of Health, over 3,500 women travelled from Ireland to the UK to undergo an abortion procedure in 2013. These aren’t just faceless, nameless statistics. They are our friends, work colleagues and the people we sit next to on the bus. When we surveyed in excess of 9,500 of our readers as part of A Slice Of Ireland recently, over 50 per cent said they knew someone who had taken this harrowing, not to mention dangerous, pilgrimage across the sea and yet, as a nation, we still steadfastly refuse to address the elephant in the room. Over the past few decades, we’ve thankfully become a lot more progressive and a fearless new society, hungry for equality, recently pulled together to bring us to one of the most momentous moments in Irish history. We will now sit and happily discuss the innermost details of our sex lives over expensive cocktails but when it comes to abortion, the word still catches in many of our throats. Is it fear? Lack of understanding? A hangover from our Catholic upbringing? Making the decision to have an abortion is rarely an easy one and yet, many women are left isolated and alone at a time when they most need support. Afraid of alienating friends by raising the topic, they go through a difficult journey, both metaphorical and physical, without raising their voice and asking for the help they need. This is not equality. These women are not equal. There has been a growing swell of support for the eighth amendment of the Constitution, which was introduced in 1983, to be repealed and 77 per cent of our readers believe that abortion should be legalised in Ireland. The article states that the country “acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal life of the mother, guarantees in its law to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right”. In reality, this has resulted in women in Ireland being prevented from having autonomy and ownership over their own bodies. That’s not an opinion, either, it’s a fact and there are a host of tragic cases to show the devastating consequences. Take The X Case, in which the State denied a 14-year-old rape victim the right to an abortion for several months. The case of Savita Halappanavar, who died at University Hospital Galway after being repeatedly denied a termination of her pregnancy. The case of Ms Y, a young asylum seeker who was forced to undergo invasive medical procedures against her will after falling pregnant from a rape. In 2013, a woman travelled from Ireland to the UK to obtain an abortion but died of internal blood loss in a taxi just hours later. These are just a few examples of the human cost of our current antiquated laws. The referendum has shown that the Irish public has the power to bring about change, but only if we all band together. The Government’s primary concern, particularly in the run-up to an election, is public perception and if they think that their core voting audience wants this to go to a referendum, then they’re going to make that happen. Deputy Clare Daly has done phenomenal work in mobilising a campaign to repeal the eighth but we can’t depend on a few thousand woman protesting on a Saturday to get the job done for us. Saying ‘fair play to them’ just isn’t good enough anymore and for every year we wait, more women will suffer. Every revolution started with a conversation. It’s about time we started this one.