Remembering X

–Post by ALRANZ National President Dr. Morgan Healy–

Any anniversary offers a good opportunity to stop and assess: where have we been and where do we want to go? On 6 February 2012 Ireland stopped to remember that same day 20 years earlier. That was the day the Republic of Ireland (and the world) was rocked by the X Case: an Attorney General charged with maintaining the law, seized a 14-year-old rape victim’s passport and interned her within the State, forcing her to continue with an unwanted pregnancy. For those who were not around in 1992 or do not remember, the X Case brought to the fore yet again the ‘contentious’ issue of abortion in Ireland.

The short history of abortion in the Republic is that it is still covered in the 1861 Crimes Act (part of Ireland’s colonial past). Abortion has never been widely available or legal in Ireland. However, this was not sufficient for the vociferous anti-choice movement. So in 1983, a constitutional amendment was passed by the people and enshrined within State law that equated the right to life of the mother with that of her fetus. Article 40.3.3 of Bunreacht na hEireann reads:

The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.

1983 to 1992 would be one of the most oppressive periods of the anti-abortion regime in Ireland. [See Senator Ivana Bacik’s piece on the X Case and her role in the pro-choice movement while a student at Trinity]

However, it was not until 1992 that the people of Ireland experienced the full meaning of Article 40.3.3. On learning that their 14-year-old daughter had been raped by a family friend and was pregnant, X’s parents contact the police to ensure that DNA from the terminated fetus could be used in evidence against the perpetrator. X and her family were told that any attempt to abort the fetus was against Irish law and that X would have to continue with the pregnancy (in accordance with Irish law the only life that was at risk was that of the ‘unborn’).

The case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court, where the judges found in favour of X, ruling that because X was suicidal her life was at risk and she should be allowed to go to England for a termination. (At no time was it assumed that the termination would be available in Ireland). X is reported to have miscarried before the termination was done.

The then Government’s response was to put forward three referenda: two of which were passed by a majority: one on the freedom to abortion information and services outside of Ireland and the other on the right to travel outside of the country for an abortion. The third, which tried to roll back the ruling in the X Case, outlawing suicide as a reasonable defense, was defeated.

This has been the state of Ireland’s abortion laws for the last 20 years (with several more cases like X before the Court and one more attempt by the Ahern Government in 2002 to roll back the X case again). It was only in December 2010 that any shift in the status quo has become a possibility. That was a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Ireland had contravened the right of C, a cancer patient who was denied an abortion. Happily this has instilled a new sense of fire and urgency in the Irish pro-choice movement. Using the X Case as a catalyst for change, pro-choicers have been holding various events across the country and calling on people to put pressure on the Government.

What will happen remains to be seen. The Kenny Government has abdicated responsibility and chosen to appoint a 14 member expert panel to assess how best to proceed with meeting the requirements of the ECHR ruling. Ultimately, what the majority of pro-choicers are calling for (and what they have been calling for the last 20 years) is legislating for the X Case ruling, of which the majority of Irish people support. Earth shattering, I don’t think so. If it happens, will the flood gates open and Irish women will be falling over themselves to have a termination, international trends refute the likelihood. But what we all should remember is that the lived reality of repressive and criminal abortion laws on those that suffer the most – women.

X is 34 this year. Her identity is still unknown. I wonder what she thinks about Ireland’s continued desire to criminalise women for their reproductive decisions?

Oh, Karl du Fresne

“Police nags should halt their moral tut-tutting about alcohol”. So read the title of Karl du Fresne’s column in the Dominion Post three weeks ago (17 January 2012). Buried underneath the main part of the column about police involvement in liquor licensing, du Fresne managed to sneak in a personal attack on Dr Gill Greer. As regular readers will likely be aware, Dr Greer was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the British New Year’s Honours List, for her work in the area of international health and women’s rights. Or, as du Fresne likes to put it, for being a “high priestess of sex education and abortion”. You can read the column in its full glory here. I think the fact that he quotes results from a Family First survey says almost all that needs to be said about it.

In response to the column, Dame Margaret Sparrow wrote a letter to the editor, which was not published. Dame Margaret kindly agreed to my reproducing her letter here:

Karl du Fresne (Dominion Post Tuesday 17 January) calls Dr Gill Greer a high priestess of sex education and abortion. This is inaccurate and insulting. She is a highly respected New Zealander who has achieved international recognition for her role at the helm of the London based International Planned Parenthood Federation. The statistics presented by du Fresne are also inaccurate. Take for example the figures on abortion. In the 2011 annual report of the Abortion Supervisory Committee it is stated that the total number of abortions performed in very young teenagers are small in comparison to other age groups and the figures are trending downwards.  Furthermore there is a noticeable downward trend in the under 20 year old range which is not replicated in the older age groups. It may well be that young persons are responding to educational efforts.

Dr Greer also responded to the column, highlighting the important work the International Planned Parenthood Federation do internationally.

From Our Files: Moral Decline, Still Just Around the Corner

In light of comments by the metamorphosed columnist (from ex-NZ Herald to current Bay of Plenty Times) Garth George about the continued decline of  “the fabric of our nation through the breakdown of the traditional family unit” etc. etc., all of which, (need you ask) is primarily caused by abortion, I thought it might be fun to jump back to the 1950s, when Sexist White Men were making almost exactly the same dire warnings about the decline of the fabric of the nation through the breakdown of the traditional family unit.

From 21 October 1979 originally published in The Guardian's Le Monde section. The headline was John Paul II Addresses the World.

But wait, how come, if abortion is the main cause of this decline, and almost no one had access to legal abortion in the 1950s, there was still a decline? Hmm, the cause of the 1950s decline must have been something different. But wait, there was no TV or internet, which GG lists as secondary causes of the current degeneration, and the primacy of men in society (the decline of which is another factor, says GG) was still, well, in its prime. True, in the 1950s, there was “greed generating poverty and a growing deprived underclass”, (I appreciate GG’s focus on poverty and greed!) though not so much multiculturalism.

It starts to look suspiciously like analyses by Sexist White Men about the imminent collapse of society reflect whatever it is at the time that they find particularly threatening. Then: radio, high wages for adolescents, mothers having jobs, etc. Etc. Now, abortion, abortion, abortion, TV, Internet, multiculturalism, poverty and mothers having jobs. Wouldn’t it be cool if just one time they did some actual research and ran a few tests on their “abortion is the primary cause of everything that I think is wrong with society” analysis.

Roe v. Wade, 39 Years On

–Post by ALRANZ National President Dr. Morgan Healy–

On the 39^th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the seminal US Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal up until the point of ‘viability’, I want to take a moment to think how New Zealanders can play a role in ensuring abortion rights are protected in the 21^st century. Remember Roe v Wade is not simply a celebration (or a call to arms) for American pro-choicers, but should be extended beyond the national context of America and considered within a wider campaign for reproductive health and rights. To this end, I want those of us here in New Zealand to consider what will it take for us to reform our own abortion laws?

2012 Blog for Choice Day (US)

Jan 22nd marks the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that effectively legalised abortion in the USA. It is also the seventh annual Blog for Choice Day in the US, organised by NARAL Pro-Choice America. Over at NARAL’s website there is a huge list of bloggers and activists who have contributed blog posts in honour of the day. Some have responded to this year’s Blog for Choice day question: “What will you do to help elect pro-choice candidates in 2012?”, while others have written more generally about the importance of Roe v. Wade.

I’m working my way through the posts, and thought I’d share a couple of my favourites so far. I’ll add more to this list later today.

Blog for Choice Day! Yes, that choice. Valerie at Capitol Records asks why Roe is still important, and nicely summarises some of the recent challenges to Roe that chip away at the right to choice in the United States.

Make 2012 the Year of the Pro-Choice Voter. Colleen at Get off My Soapbox writes about how important it is for pro-choicers to talk about abortion, and suggests we could learn something from the LGBT movement in terms of personalising the issue and telling our own stories.

First, we’d actually have to find a pro-choice politician. Anna at The Feminist Librarian reframes this years question, and wonders “how do you go about taking action to ‘help elect pro-choice candidates’ when, essentially, you don’t feel there are any pro-choice candidates?”

Blog for Choice: The 2 Battles of Choice. Madeline at Fem 2.0 urges us to “stop hiding sex, contraception and abortion and put it out on the table to discussion and education.”

Blog for Choice Day, a letter of thanks/apology to Roe vs. Wade. Megan at STFY Fauxminist apologises for taking Roe v. Ward for granted.

What Would An Abortion Ban Look Like?

With news of a new Lancet study showing abortion rates tend to be higher where abortion is illegal,  it’s worth revisiting the question: What Would an Abortion Ban in Aotearoa-New Zealand Look Like? ALRANZ blogged about that (over at our old place) in November 2009. It’s something those campaigning through the courts and elsewhere to ban abortion in New Zealand don’t tell the truth about: No, an abortion ban in New Zealand would not mean no New Zealanders had abortions (an outcome only supportable if it’s the result of there being no unwanted pregnancies); Yes, an abortion ban in New Zealand would likely mean scores of women being forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, but many many more would instead seek out other ways to end those pregnancies. Thus, abortions would shift from being safe and legal to being illegal, often unsafe, via Internet pills or backstreet operators or DIY abortions. For those who could afford them, safe and legal abortions could still be had via trips to Australia or elsewhere.

Back in the 70s, before Misoprostol and Mifepristone and the Internet, women tried all kinds of ways to end unwanted pregnancies.  Dr. Rex Hunton, the medical director and one of the founders of the AMAT clinic, which opened in 1974 and helped prompt the panic that led to our current backward law (yes, we have good abortion care, but that’s despite an archaic restrictive law), gave evidence to the 1975-77 Royal Commission on Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion on the self-care methods his patients told him they had tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to end unwanted pregnancies. (This was at a time when very few legal abortions were performed in NZ):

Fact Sheets

Those of you who have visited ALRANZ’s official website may have seen that we recently added some new fact sheets to our resources. We have decided to move these to this blog – if you look up at the top of this page, you will see there is a new tab labelled ‘Fact Sheets’. A number of the fact sheets take the form of Q&A, and we hope these will come in handy for answering common questions you might have, or for helping you talk to other people about abortion. Questions include: “Does emergency contraception cause an abortion?”, “Does abortion increase the risk of breast cancer?” and “Do young people need to tell their parents that they are getting an abortion?” There is also information about early medication abortion and about the current state of abortion law in Aotearoa New Zealand.

If you have a question about abortion that you would like answered in a Fact Sheet, let us know in a comment or send us an email.

Pro-choice morsels (6 Jan)

A few quick links from the end of 2011 and the start of 2012.

Gill Greer, former executive director of NZ Family Planning was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the British New Year’s Honours List, for her work in the area of sexual health for women and girls around the world.

Abortion pioneer Merle Hoffman talks to Salon about her recently published memoir Intimate Wars.

Sunsara Taylor answers the question ‘Should a woman feel sad about her abortion?’ with a resolute ‘No’.

Amanda Marcotte at RH Reality Check discusses the war on contraception that escalated in the US in 2011.

IPAS have been busy raising awareness about sexual and reproductive rights as fundamental human rights across Latin America.

Still in Latin America, abortion up to 12 weeks is set to be decriminalised in Uruguay!

And, coming up soon:

January 22 is the seventh annual Blog for Choice Day in the US. On this day (the anniversary of Roe v. Wade), pro-choice bloggers and activists from around the US will write blog posts responding to this year’s question: “What will you do to help elect pro-choice candidates in 2012?” There will definitely be some good reading in there, and we will link to the list of bloggers participating on the day.

Have any other pro-choice news or articles you want to share? Post a comment, or email us if you have something you think would be good for our next ‘Pro-choice morsels’.

More Honest Times at Ridgemont High

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy Hamilton

Last Sunday, Channel Four screened the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, one of the first and arguably best of the “teen” movie genre, which features a whole heap of actors who went to become big stars, like Sean Penn (as the stoner surfer Jeff Spicoli), Jennifer Jason Leigh (the main female character, high schooler Stacy Hamilton) and Judge Reinhold (Stacy’s elder brother Brad). In the movie, Stacy gets pregnant to the slick-talking, premature ejaculating Mike Damone. With no fuss, and admirable determination, she asks him to split the $150 cost of an abortion at the local free clinic. “Doesn’t sound free to me,” Mike tells her. But he agrees to pay his share, and give her a ride to the clinic.

About now, in pretty much every contemporary movie  or TV show that dares to touch the abortion issue (and that’s not many), Stacy will suffer a lot of angst and will eventually decide not to go through with the abortion. She will then either have a convenient miscarriage or a baby. (The 2010 Ben Stiller move, “Greenberg” is a notable exception, as is the lol episode of The Sarah Silverman Program “Bored of the Rings” in which Sarah finds out the community group she recently joined is a radical anti-abortion group planning to bomb on the clinic where her sister, Laura, volunteers. Here’s a clip of Sarah fondly remembering her past abortions there.)

Pro-choice morsels (19 Dec)

Some links from the past couple of weeks:

The UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) last week published the world’s largest, most comprehensive and systematic review of mental health outcomes and abortion care, the conclusion of which is that abortions do not increase a woman’s chance of developing mental health problems. RH Reality Check has a good summary (and a link to the AMRC website, where you can download a copy of the full review).

DJ Jay Smooth has some thoughts about the ‘Until Abortion Ends’ videos.

The Abortioneers write abortion haiku (I think I might have a go at that too).

And check out this nifty comparison of various birth control methods.

—Feel free to share any good posts/articles/other bits and pieces with us in a comment.—