Reflections on March 6th 2002...The Abortion Referendum.

March 6th has a personal significance for me as it is the date I first saw the world, albeit a small part of it in the maternity ward of the Rotunda Hospital Dublin. (The better part came a few days later when I was brought home to the idyllic plains of Longford!)

The significance of March 6th 2002 is a slightly different, as it was the day the Irish people went to the ballot box to exercise their democratic right, by voting on an amendment to Bunreacht na hEireann. They voted on the 25th Amendment of the Constitution (Human Life in Pregnancy Bill 2001).

Abortion and the law in Ireland has had a very messy relationship and this amendment was hailed by many (myself included) to be the solution to these discrepancies. But as I reflected on my coming into the world, the Irish people voted against this amendment, which promised so much, by a measly margin of 10,556 votes.

To briefly summarise the legal situation prior to March 6th (still remaining)...
Legislation dealing with abortion in Ireland dates back to 1861 - The Offences against the Person Act Sections 58 and 59. They are very vague, and are actually still the law in Britain, where millions of abortions have taken place. Realistically one cannot expect a 141-year-old law dealing with pregnancy to be adequate for the world in which we live. Conception, pregnancy and birth are infinitely beautiful and intricate miracles which science has still lots to find about, but we certainly know considerably more now, than they did in 1861 and the law should reflect this increase in scientific fact. They have proven ineffective at stopping abortion in all its forms in the UK.

In 1983, the 8th amendment of the Constitution was inserted as article 40.3.3 and 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."

In 1992, a 14 year old was raped by the father of one of her school friends and became pregnant. She then traveled with her parents to England to procure an abortion. The parents contacted the gardai and enquired as to the possibility of carrying out a test on the foetus to ascertain paternity. The Director of Public Prosecution was contacted to see if such evidence would be admissible in court and when the DPP contacted the Attorney General, an injunction was sought to prevent her from aborting her unborn child.

The High Court granted this injunction which the Supreme Court overturned on appeal.
"If it can be established as a matter of probability that there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, as distinct from the health, of the mother, which can only be avoided by the termination of her pregnancy, such termination is possible" Finlay CJ

The court then ruled, based on the evidence they received from 1 psychologist, that the threat of self destruction was a "real and substantial risk" and therefore effectively legalised abortion, at all stages of pregnancy, on the threat of suicide. This is known as the X case.

Following the X case 3 amendments were put to the people. The 12th amendment which made lawful any terminations which were necessary to save the life of the mother except in case of threatened suicide. This was rejected.

Amendments 13 and 14 were passed and dealt with the freedom to travel for anything to another State, and the provision of information on services, illegal here, but provided in another State.

The Regulation of Information (Services outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Act 1995 also known as the Noonan Act was passed to enact the 14th amendment.

The judgment in the X case was used as a precedent to the C case in 1997 in the High Court, which was about the Health Board taking a young raped girl in their care, abroad for an abortion.

The confusing thing about all this legal business (I'm not a lawyer so I hope that what I've just said is accurate) is that the Irish Medical Council, the governing body for doctors in Ireland consider the carrying out of an abortion grounds for professional misconduct.

So in essence by law you're allowed to carry out an abortion but would be struck off the medical register if you did, which is a pretty good incentive not to.

The 25th amendment was designed to remove these contradictions between the law, which deemed abortion necessary and medical practise in Ireland, which considered abortion unnecessary.

Ireland, despite no actual abortions taking place here, has one of the best maternal mortality rates in the world. It is the safest place in world to be pregnant and to give birth. This is a record which Irish doctors have worked hard at achieving and have created a health service, in which both the mother and her unborn child, are treated equally with dignity and receive the best medical care.

Without going into the nitty-gritty of these proposals, I believe that this amendment resolved these issues and provided concrete protection for women and their unborn children.

Unfortunately, the weeks before polling day were marred by scare mongering about issues that were simply factually incorrect. No campaigners said that it would legalise the Morning After Pill (pro-life no) and illegalise the Morning After Pill (pro-choice no). It had nothing to do with the Morning After Pill. Allegations about prison sentences for women who had abortions were rampant. This was also untrue as there is a specific prosecution policy to ensure that women who have had abortions, who have had enough trauma already, will not be prosecuted but their evidence maybe used to prosecute the abortionist.

They were many other instances of scare-mongering which insulted the intelligence of the Irish people including such nuggets of wisdom as "if you don't know vote no" or it might not be constitutional after all. Such rubbish made me want to vomit.

I think that Irish women are the worse off in the aftermath of this defeat. Within hours of the close result being announced (10,556 votes) pro-choice no campaigners were calling for legislation based on the X case which would allow abortion on demand at any time, to any woman who threatened suicide.

This is not compassion. And most certainly is not pro-woman, considering the risk of suicide in women is 6 times higher after an abortion than when pregnant.

When the result was announced and as I surveyed the battle weary faces of my fellow pro-life campaigners I was struck by my lack of heart-wrenching disappointment. I never considered myself to be an eternal optimist, but I found myself feeling proud of being Irish. I am a member of a race who, despite our increasing affluence and Western ways, believe in the sanctity of human life at all its stages by a majority. (Including pro-life no)

I found myself feeling proud to have campaigned for a Yes vote. Proud of taking part in a campaign that sought to open people's hearts and minds on one of the most basic human issues - the treatment of our most vulnerable. Proud of doing this with people of dignity, humour, compassion, courage, who believed in respect for their opponents, and reasoned arguments delivered with eloquence.

It was campaign not without its moments.
A number of longstanding pro-life activists interpreted the referendum as reserving legal protection to after the moment of implantation. This schism caused much hurt and division in the pro-life movement as people were confused as to where to turn - who was really pro-life? This did not affect me personally but many veteran pro-lifers were now pitted against each other. It was a sad reflection on pro-life unity and hopefully those divisions formed will be replaced by a joint enthusiasm to protect the unborn and to help women.

The campaign certainly brought with it many moments of shock, surprise, and frustration along with the whole gamut of emotions.

I was involved in some leaflet distribution on the streets and had my eyes opened for me. I am now easy prey to anyone clutching a wad of leaflets - I just can't bear the thought of turning away from them or scrunching up their leaflets.

I was surprised at the level of confusion regarding the abortion issue itself and by the amount of people who were swayed by arguments such as "if it was your raped 14 year old daughter". While it is certainly a terribly traumatic situation, the compassionate answer is not an abortion.

I was horrified at the blasé attitude displayed by some to rape. While on Grafton St, a pro-choice no campaigner approached me and asked me "do you have sex?" In hindsight I have lots of responses including "Is that an offer? No thanks!" but I was rooted to spot with shock at her rudeness. She asked me "If you were raped would you keep the baby?". I stuttered that yes I would. She glared at me before saying "enjoy the rape" and walked away. I still can't comprehend how another woman would wish rape upon anyone, considering she was wearing a sticker quoting the X case.

I was shocked by the level of violence that there is on the streets. While I sound like a feeble culchie whose language rarely rises above the odd "feck", the Dubs have a great repository of effin' and blindin'. One middle aged man struck my arm and told me, well, let's just say he didn't quite extol the virtues of my ladylike stand. Another explained to me how, as a woman, I have every right to kill my children and urged me to examine the world of the female in nature.

But despite these encounters of the third kind I would get out there again, because I talked to such an interesting and diverse group of people, willing to express themselves, to ask questions without rancour and to tell their stories.

One elderly gentleman told me how he and his wife are raising their grandchild after they learnt that their daughter was considering abortion. He spoke of his joy and how the child had rejuvenated their ailing relationship with their daughter.

I also spoke to a woman who had an abortion a few months ago while she was being treated for depression. I think that sad conversation illustrated the meaning of the phrase pro-life for me. While I had wanted to tell her that her feelings of relief were normal after an abortion, but there maybe well lots of pain down the road, I couldn't. Nor could I tell her that there were other ways to treat her depression than abortion. Looking at that woman, as she told me about her 10 year old son and the thought of leaving him an orphan if she got suicidal, and hearing that her doctors in England told her the only solution was an abortion, I resolved to fight the violence that is abortion and to become the kind of doctor who dispenses compassion and not expediency. That woman's hurt will one day become a tragic reality, an emotional scar that she and her family will have to deal with. A burden that was created by an abortion, and a medical profession unwilling to consider treating a pregnant woman equally, and a society that viewed both this woman's mental health and her unborn baby as a thing to be disposed of, not a problem to be solved.

The abortion referendum of 2002 is one that was marked by a willingness of the government and leading politicians to come out and say proudly that they were pro-life.

It will be remembered by some as a defeat but I believe it was a victory. A victory not reflected in the polls. Irish people thought that this issue was so important as to go to the ballot box over it. They opened their minds to those who believed in the inviolability of human life, to those who were willing to stand up and speak with conviction, and to those unafraid to care for everyone in society, including the scared and small.

My favourite quote from Mother Teresa, who was one of the greatest humanitarians of the last century, is "Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."

Ireland has not accepted abortion. We want a society where women and their unborn are protected fully in the law and welcomed into life.

Our campaign has only just begun.