Decriminalisation of abortion highlighted by UN Special Rapporteur in Dublin
Published: Sunday, December 16, 2012
PRESS RELEASE, 17 December 2012
Decriminalisation of abortion highlighted by UN Special Rapporteur in Dublin
On his one day visit to Ireland, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Anand Grover, has highlighted the need to decriminalise abortion in order to ensure women's right to health. Exactly two years after the A,B and C versus Ireland judgement, Mr Grover gave a keynote speech on Realising Women's Right to Health at a conference organised by the Women's Human Rights Alliance (WHRA), convened by the National Women's Council of Ireland.
Mr Grover said:
'Criminal laws and other legal restrictions on sexual and reproductive health may have a negative impact on the right to health in many ways, including by interfering with human dignity. Dignity requires that individuals are free to make personal decisions without interference from the State, especially in an area as important and intimate as sexual and reproductive health. Criminalisation also generates and perpetuates stigma and restricts the woman's ability to make full use of available sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information.'
He continued:
'Criminal laws and other legal restrictions disempower women, who may be deterred from taking steps to protect their health, in order to avoid liability and out of fear of stigmatization. By restricting access to sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information these laws can also have a discriminatory effect, in that they disproportionately affect those in need of such resources, namely women. As a result, women and girls are punished both when they abide by these laws, and are thus subjected to poor physical and mental health outcomes, and when they do not, and thus face incarceration.'
Jacqueline Healy, NWCI and spokesperson for WHRA said: 'In his role as UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Anand Grover has been vital in raising awareness of the need to decriminalise abortion and to consider sexual and reproductive health rights as an integral part of women's right to health. This is a very timely and important message to be heard in Ireland today. The Women's Human Rights Alliance is delighted to have the opportunity to host the UN Special Rapporteur.'
The conference Realising Women's Right to Health in Ireland also focused on the impact of austerity measures on women's health rights and the importance of a strong gender dimension to policy planning and service provision.
Four women gave powerful personal testimonies about how their health rights have been infringed under the current health care system.
Ruth Bowie of Termination for Medical Reasons Ireland said in her testimony: 'We are campaigning for a change in the law in Ireland to allow terminations for fatal foetal abnormality. In 2012 it is simply unacceptable that women and men who make the heart-breaking decision to terminate a much wanted pregnancy are forced to travel to the UK away from their homes, families and support networks. This journey is being made by couples every week and it is time that they are afforded the dignity to be cared for in their own country. The government need to listen to our stories and our traumatic experiences and make change happen now. They can never change the devastating diagnosis been given but they can change the law to provide treatment and care in our own country.'
Erica Birch-Abban of Cairde testified: 'Women from minority ethnic communities face double discrimination when trying to access healthcare. Poor linguistic and cultural competence amongst service providers often prevents women from having access to health information or services and to suffer poor quality health care as a result.'
Kathleen McDonnell of Pavee Point Travellers Centre stated: 'The government's failure to address Traveller health inequalities is killing our community'.
Monika Makulova of the Roma Project, Pavee Point said: 'We came here for a better life, an escape from racism and instead many Roma women and their families are denied basic healthcare.'
Professor Kathleen Lynch of the School of Social Justice, UCD, chaired the conference. Speakers included health journalist Sara Burke and researcher Dr Jane Pillinger.
The following WHRA members support this press release: Akidwa, Cairde, Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI), Irish Council for Civil Liberties Irish Feminist Network, Migrants Rights Centre of Ireland, National Collective of Community Based Women's Networks (NCCWN), Immigrant Council of Ireland, Pavee Point Travellers Centre, OPEN, National Traveller Women's Forum, Women's Aid.
For further information including testimonies from the women who spoke, please contact: Silke Paasche, Communications Officer, National Women's Council of Ireland: Tel. 085 858 9104
Jacqueline Healy, Women's Health and Human Rights Worker, National Women's Council of Ireland: Tel. 085 8586476
Note to Editors:
Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, is a lawyer with an impressive history in activism for rights of women, gay people, sex workers, and sufferers of HIV. His duties as UN Rapporteur on the Right to Health include gathering information on how Member States comply with requirements to realise the right to health, as well as promoting this issue globally. The main focus of his 2011 interim report as UN Special Rapporteur was the impact on women's rights to health of criminalisation of means to attain sexual and reproductive health, such as contraception, sex education, maternal care, and safe abortions.
The Women's Human Rights Alliance (WHRA) is convened by the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI). It is a coalition of independent non-governmental organisations that advocate for women's human rights. Current members include Akidwa, Amnesty International, Cairde, Pavee Point Travellers Centre, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, Immigrant Council of Ireland, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, National Travellers Women's Forum, National Collective of Community Based Women's Networks (NCCWN), National Women's Council of Ireland, OPEN, Ruhama, Irish Family Planning Association, UN Women Ireland and Women's Aid.