Frontlines: Choice prized

For many, it is a question of science versus faith. But for the new Doctors For Choice alliance, there really is no debate.

We all know the tangled history of abortion in Ireland. Decades after the introduction of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which aimed to protect “the right to life of the unborn”, we are still trying to deal with the resulting mess.

In 1992, the Attorney General v X case led to the Supreme Court deciding that abortion was allowable if a women’s life was at risk – including the threat of suicide. Politicians were too scared, however, to implement that decision. Their cowardliness was thrown into stark relief two years ago, when – in the University Hospital Galway – a severely ill Savita Halappanavar, who was having a miscarriage, was refused an abortion that would have speeded the process up and made it safer. She subsequently died of septicaemia.

The fact remains, however, that every year, approximately 5,000 ordinary Irish women are forced to leave the country to seek abortions in Britain. And that’s just those that give Irish addresses. It has long been shown that criminalising abortion does not stop it, so the moral grandstanding that goes on with Catholic lobby groups like the Iona Institute is, in reality, moral hypocrisy.

As Mary Harney commented, way back in 1992: “If we were an island in the middle of the Atlantic we would have an abortion service by now in this country.”

GP registrar Mark Murphy, meanwhile, makes the case that having to travel abroad is actually harming Irish women. Which is a serious consideration when between 150,000 and 200,000 Irish women have had UK abortions.

“As a general practitioner, I am primarily involved in people’s health,” says Dr. Murphy. “Both anecdotally from colleagues, from managing crisis pregnancies and also from women who have returned from having an abortion abroad, I’ve noted that Irish women’s health suffers with the status quo in Ireland. By forcing Irish women abroad to access reproductive services that are standard in other countries, the Irish state is harming women.

“It harms them psychologically,” he adds, “and it harms them socially. It can even harm them physically because of potentially delayed presentation; a common side effect could escalate into a more serious side effect. Witnessing the harm compelled me to join Doctors For Choice, to perform some research in the area, and to really become active.”

IMPARTIAL STANCE

Doctors For Choice is an “alliance of independent medical professionals and students advocating for comprehensive reproductive health services in Ireland, including the provision of safe and legal abortion for women who choose it.” It holds two ideals as paramount: feminism and best medical practice.

Given that GPs are at the frontline in dealing with real, everyday cases, Dr. Murphy feels that he and his colleagues are best placed to take an informed, impartial stance.

“It is incumbent on those who can influence policy-makers to be active,” he says. “I do feel very strongly that the medical profession should be leading advocates in the abortion debate. I was born two years before the Eighth Amendment was introduced. I’m 33 now and I can see amongst my friends – not in the medical profession – that an absolute majority of Irish citizens do not agree with the current legislation. An absolute majority – about 90% – of the medical profession do not agree with the current legislation. Yet the current legislation persists. And when policy does not reflect the opinions of the citizens, I think democracy itself is jeopardised.”

It was typical of the disconnect when the then-junior minister Lucinda Creighton voted against a suicide clause in the 2013 abortion bill because of personally-held religious views.

“We know that approximately 30-40% of people are pro-choice, we know that approximately 70% of citizens believe abortion should be allowable if a woman’s health is in danger. I think, over time, doctors can help educate the public about what it means for a woman to ask for an abortion and what it means when the State denies that access.”

ELECTORAL ISSUE

Dr. Murphy has had to deal with attacks from the likes of Youth Defence, a particularly aggressive pro-life organisation.

“It is particularly disturbing that many of those in the anti-choice movement rely on lies to try and propagate their movement. I think that is very unfair. The Youth Defence campaign that said ‘abortion tears the lives of women apart’ was one of the things – arguably more than Savita Halappanavar – that galvanised the regular pro-choice person on the street. We all know a woman that’s had an abortion. They’re our sisters, our mothers, our cousins, our friends. So we all know this isn’t true.”

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act came into effect in January, but there are still barriers in place for even that to be effective.

“It’s all very uncertain at the moment,” Mark Murphy says. “What is clear is that Doctors For Choice have repeatedly said that this act is unworkable. We know that the best thing is that women should just be able to choose to have an abortion in Ireland, full stop. We are premising medical practice in Ireland, around orthodox Catholic policy from 1983. That is no way to deliver quality, safe medical care to Irish women.

“In the rare situation where a woman has a life-threatening illness, an obstetrician will have to jump through paperwork, and potentially reviews, instead of just dealing with the situation. If a woman, through the process of informed consent, has chosen to have a life-saving termination of pregnancy, why should there be this bureaucracy in place beforehand? It’s entirely inappropriate and we’ve always argued that it is unworkable. The fact that it is taking so long is emblematic of the bureaucracy and paperwork that this act will create...

“Ultimately, I think the incremental approach will fail. It is going to take a radical, one-off change to our constitution, removing the 1983 amendment – and that’s going to take a referendum. Therefore, in order for us to move on and give reproductive rights to Irish women, this will have to become an electoral issue. There is no other way around it.”

For more, go to doctorsforchoiceireland.com.