In 1992 a fourteen year old Irish girl was impregnated after having been raped by a neighbor. After attempting to commit suicide over the pregnancy, the young woman sued the Irish government for an order allowing her to travel to England to terminate the pregnancy. The government fought the action arguing that it could not facilitate an act illegal under Irish law. The Irish Supreme Court sided with the young woman and, as part of its decision, ordered the government to make appropriate revisions in Irish law to allow for abortion where the life of the mother was threatened.
Irish women are now permitted to travel abroad to obtain abortions, but in the intervening eighteen years the government has not responded to its Supreme Court’s order to permit abortions in Ireland to save the life of the mother.
Abortion is prohibited by the Irish Constitution. By Irish law both the woman having an abortion and the doctor performing an abortion are subject to criminal prosecution for murder. The law dates back to 1861. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, health of the mother or even to save the life of the mother.
The issue comes to the forefront again today because of a 2005 situation involving a Lithuanian woman then living in Ireland. While battling cancer, and with a life threatening pregnancy, she was forced to travel abroad to have the pregnancy terminated despite the Irish Supreme Court’s order of 1992. Earlier today the European Court of Human Rights found that the Irish government had violated the woman’s right to receive proper medical care in a life threatening medical condition.
Finding that the Irish government offered no credible explanation for its eighteen years of inaction on the issue, the Court awarded the woman a nominal $20,000 in damages. Rulings by the European Court of Human Rights have some influence but are virtually unenforceable. The only punishment for failure to obey its orders is expulsion from the Council of Europe. That has never happened. Nation members often stall for years, or completely ignore, the court’s rulings.
In 2002 the issue was brought to the Irish people by referendum. The referendum would have permitted “all necessary medical treatment for pregnant women, even when this includes the risk of the death of the unborn child”. The referendum was defeated as was a similar referendum in 1992 that would have allowed for abortion to save the mother’s life. It is estimated that 100 Irish women per week, more than 5000 a year, travel to England for abortions. The numbers for travel to other countries is not available.
Ireland has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates, 5.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. For comparative purposes, the maternal mortality rate in the United States is 16.7 per 100,000 live births.
Author’s Note: The image above is from an Irish pro-choice rally.
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.