This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/pro-choice-activists-women-access-abortion-tour-of-ireland
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 'Abortion pill bus' sets off on tour of Ireland that could breach law | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Pro-choice activists in Ireland have set off from Dublin on an “abortion pill bus” tour around the country, potentially breaking the law by informing women about how to access the pills, which are banned. | |
| The bus has a room where women can get a private video consultation with a Dutch doctor from the international pro-choice group Women on the Web. Women on the Web has been behind a sticker campaign across Ireland that posts websites where abortion pills can be obtained online. Irish law prohibits helping people to procure pills. | The bus has a room where women can get a private video consultation with a Dutch doctor from the international pro-choice group Women on the Web. Women on the Web has been behind a sticker campaign across Ireland that posts websites where abortion pills can be obtained online. Irish law prohibits helping people to procure pills. |
| The bus is visiting Galway, Limerick and Cork before returning to Dublin, where it will be driven to a pro-choice rally at St Stephen’s Green in the city centre on Saturday afternoon. | |
| Abortion is illegal in Irish hospitals in all but a few limited circumstances, and doctors and medical teams who carry out terminations face up to 14 years in jail. | Abortion is illegal in Irish hospitals in all but a few limited circumstances, and doctors and medical teams who carry out terminations face up to 14 years in jail. |
| One of the organisers of the bus tour, the Irish Socialist party Dáil member Ruth Coppinger, said the journey to the Republic’s four major cities was aimed at highlighting “the option of safe abortion”. | One of the organisers of the bus tour, the Irish Socialist party Dáil member Ruth Coppinger, said the journey to the Republic’s four major cities was aimed at highlighting “the option of safe abortion”. |
| Speaking at the Central Bank in Dublin’s Dame Street, Coppinger said: “Thousands of women leave this country every year, and take abortion pills and have abortions in their own bedrooms.” She added that pro-choice groups in Ireland have received “a lot of requests from women to avail of this service, in full public glare”. | Speaking at the Central Bank in Dublin’s Dame Street, Coppinger said: “Thousands of women leave this country every year, and take abortion pills and have abortions in their own bedrooms.” She added that pro-choice groups in Ireland have received “a lot of requests from women to avail of this service, in full public glare”. |
| Earlier this week Helen Linehan and her husband Graham, the Father Ted creator, collaborated with Amnesty on a short campaign film calling for the repeal of the eighth amendment of the constitution, which puts the foetus’s right to life on the same footing as a woman’s. | Earlier this week Helen Linehan and her husband Graham, the Father Ted creator, collaborated with Amnesty on a short campaign film calling for the repeal of the eighth amendment of the constitution, which puts the foetus’s right to life on the same footing as a woman’s. |
| Hollywood star Liam Neeson provides a voiceover, in which he says: “A ghost haunts Ireland. A cruel ghost of the last century. It blindly brings suffering, even death, to the women whose lives it touches. Feared by politicians, this is a ghost of paper and ink … a constitution written for a different time. It is the shadow of the country we’d left behind. Ireland doesn’t have to be chained to its past. It’s time to lay this ghost to rest.” | Hollywood star Liam Neeson provides a voiceover, in which he says: “A ghost haunts Ireland. A cruel ghost of the last century. It blindly brings suffering, even death, to the women whose lives it touches. Feared by politicians, this is a ghost of paper and ink … a constitution written for a different time. It is the shadow of the country we’d left behind. Ireland doesn’t have to be chained to its past. It’s time to lay this ghost to rest.” |
| Anti-abortion Catholic groups in both Ireland and the US have called for a boycott of Neeson’s films as a result of his involvement in the pro-choice campaign. | Anti-abortion Catholic groups in both Ireland and the US have called for a boycott of Neeson’s films as a result of his involvement in the pro-choice campaign. |
| Pro-choice groups have argued that the eighth amendment creates a legal “chill factor” among medical teams even in cases affected by a law passed in 2013 that allows for terminations in very limited circumstances. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act allows abortion when continuing with a pregnancy would result in the mother’s death or in cases where the woman is suicidal. Despite this legislation, women who are victims of rape and in many cases suicidal are still refused abortions. | Pro-choice groups have argued that the eighth amendment creates a legal “chill factor” among medical teams even in cases affected by a law passed in 2013 that allows for terminations in very limited circumstances. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act allows abortion when continuing with a pregnancy would result in the mother’s death or in cases where the woman is suicidal. Despite this legislation, women who are victims of rape and in many cases suicidal are still refused abortions. |
| Last year, a young asylum seeker who had been raped in her native country was refused an abortion by the Irish health service even though she claimed she was suicidal. The woman tried to escape to Britain to get a termination in Liverpool, but was arrested and deported back to Ireland from the ferry terminal by Merseyside police because she had no personal documentation with her. | Last year, a young asylum seeker who had been raped in her native country was refused an abortion by the Irish health service even though she claimed she was suicidal. The woman tried to escape to Britain to get a termination in Liverpool, but was arrested and deported back to Ireland from the ferry terminal by Merseyside police because she had no personal documentation with her. |
| The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was forced to go ahead with the pregnancy and gave birth via caesarean section in Ireland. The child was given up for adoption. It is understood the woman’s legal team are to sue the Irish state for forcing her to go to full term against her will. | The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was forced to go ahead with the pregnancy and gave birth via caesarean section in Ireland. The child was given up for adoption. It is understood the woman’s legal team are to sue the Irish state for forcing her to go to full term against her will. |