Women can never take their reproductive rights for granted – NMH Protest

Published: Saturday, May 14, 2022

Today the National Women’s Council will join with women and campaigning groups outside the Dáil to call for a publicly owned, secular National Maternity Hospital.

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWC said,

“We know that the majority of the public is not happy with the current proposals around the National Maternity Hospital. Women must be able to trust in the independence of their maternity hospital, and know that all of the legally available reproductive services are available to them.

We call on the Government to pause their current plans on the National Maternity Hospital and work towards a solution that ensures a fully publicly owned and secular National Maternity Hospital.

Alana Ryan, Women’s Health Coordinator, NWC said,

“The history of women’s healthcare in Ireland shows that women have good reason to be sceptical and concerned that, yet again, our voices and needs are easily dismissed and disregarded. Despite the successful repeal referendum, recent legal developments in relation to Roe vs Wade in the US are a stark reminder that women can never take their reproductive rights for granted.

The events surrounding the proposed relocation of the National Maternity Hospital show that we still face serious challenges both in terms of how we plan for crucial infrastructural projects of this kind, and the long running and contentious relationship between Church and State.

Women living in Ireland deserve access to the best possible healthcare, and in particular to the best reproductive healthcare and this absolutely must be unfettered by creed or ideology. Our National Maternity Hospital must be a model for this.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact Vicky Masterson, Communications Officer, 087 100 0385

About NWC
The National Women’s Council (NWC) is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. We have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters. The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind. This ambition shapes and informs our work, and, with our living values, how we work.

We are a movement-building organisation rooted in our membership, working on the whole island of Ireland. We are also part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Our purpose is to lead action for the achievement of women’s and girls’ equality through mobilising, influencing, and building solidarity. More information is available on www.nwci.ie