Abortion issue resurfaces

The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) has launched a 13-point plan to have abortion legalised in the Irish Republic, under the motto ‘Safe and Legal in Ireland’.

Strangely, while the 6,000 Irish women who travel to Britain and further afield annually to have abortions are discussed, there is no mention, in the press release at least (it was brought up before), of the supposed growing number of backstreet abortions carried out for those within the new immigrant community, who don’t have the funds to travel or are afraid to leave the jurisdiction for fear of not being allowed back in.

There is also no mention of the illegal sale of the RU486 pill on the streets of Dublin to the Chinese community especially.

the IFPA is calling for the removal of of Article 40.3.3 from the Constitution and says that abortion is a decision that should be made by a woman in consultation with her medical advisor.

Article 40.3.3 states: “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.”

RTE reports that the campaign will include seeking meetings with the leaders of each political party to lobby them to change the current laws.

Also, the Association is supporting three Irish women who have had abortions abroad and who are now taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The women say their human rights were breached by not being allowed have an abortion in Ireland.

Anti-abortion group Youth Defence tried to break into the press conference and IFPA’s Ivana Bacik, who ran for the European Parliament with Labour, said this is just the latest in a series of aggresive tactics against her and the organisation.

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