Last week, Mick Wallace's bill on Fatal Foetal Abnormality was defeated in the Dáil.

The aim of the bill was to amend the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act to allow for abortions in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities. While the Bill was defeated by a margin of 95 votes to 45 votes, many eyes turned to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone who has campaigned for reform for a number of years and yet chose to defeat the bill. Speaking to RTÉ News following the vote, Zappone made comments which have angered her voters and supporters of the Repeal campaign.

“I think to call [a referendum] now - I’m not convinced yet that enough people are with us, especially those who are still to be persuaded, part pf middle Ireland, to say yes, they agree that there are various circumstances where women do, in very difficult circumstances, it’s the best and the most correct and ethical action to choose abortion," said the TD. “I’m not convinced that our people are ready to pass that referendum, we need more time.”

Campaigning groups have criticized the politician for her words and today Parents for Choice contacted us to print an open letter to the Minister. They write passionately: Dear Katherine, As Parents For Choice in Pregnancy and Childbirth, we are motivated from the dual perspective of women whose autonomy is compromised by the eighth amendment, and as parents. We are the parents of the children it is your duty, as Minister for Child and Youth Affairs, to advocate for and so we feel particularly angered and wounded by your recent vote against TD Mick Wallace’s bill to allow for abortions in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities and your commentary afterwards. As parents, we are driven not only by our own demand for bodily autonomy, but also by a desire to protect our children from having to grow up in a nation where that autonomy has still not been granted to women, and those who identify as female. We are driven by the fear of how our roles as parents compound the consequences we face in this country, should we want or need to terminate a pregnancy. The cost of procuring an abortion; the logistics of travel; the fear of criminal charges set against the physical and mental impact of an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy. These are real fears for women in Ireland. As parents, we fear how these consequences will affect our children, and our ability to care for our children.

illustration by Rebecca Flynn

Recent figures indicate that over half of women who procure abortions are mothers already. How is a child impacted when her mother must schedule time in her life to drive across the border to procure abortion pills illegally? How is a child impacted when his mother has to fly to another country to terminate a pregnancy? How is a child impacted by the stress of a mother who has taken a safe, but illegal medication, and fears how medical professionals will receive her if she needs help? How is a child impacted when her mother suffers dangerous complications in pregnancy? How is a child impacted when his mother suffers post-partum depression after a pregnancy she didn’t want, but couldn’t afford to terminate? How is a child impacted when her future sibling has a fatal foetal abnormality – yet their own government has no support to offer other than a blind eye? As the Minister for Child and Youth Affairs, you are letting down the children of mothers who will suffer because of the eighth amendment. Furthermore, the current legislation in Ireland does not prevent abortion, it only serves to determine who can, and cannot, access abortion. Women who do not have the means to travel - due to financial restraints, a disability, non-Irish status, a controlling or abusive partner, a lack of the time or support – are those affected most deeply by our country’s legislation and our government’s cowardice. As in so many ways, those who suffer the most, suffer further. Forced pregnancy perpetuates the cycle of inherited poverty that you and Anne Louise have worked against for decades, and yet you allow yourself to be complicit in allowing it to continue. You say we are not ready for a referendum, but we are not ready to wait, nor are our children and families. What we cannot fathom is that you state you have advocated constitutional change on this matter for thirty years. Thirty years is a long time. In those thirty years, our grandmothers and mothers and aunts advocated for change, deprived of their bodily autonomy, as they watched the next generation grow up to add their voices to the furious chorus, and now you would do the same to us and our children. To us – to women, to parents, to children – your position on this is unacceptable. If you are affected by this issue and would like to contact Parents for Choice please do so HERE. To find out more about their work visit them on Facebook. 

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We at Her.ie support the Repeal the campaign and have proudly partnered with The Repeal Project to give women the opportunity to wear their rights.  We have pledged to tell, share and amplify the stories of abortion in Ireland today. To share your story contact Cassie.Delaney@Her.ie. Get your Repeal Project jumper HERE.