Dont Send Her Packing

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Friday June 29, 2007 12:43 by thefemaleeunach

call for abortion rights in Ireland

Choice Ireland a recently formed reproductive rights group placed 20 suitcases outside Dail Eireann in order to highlight the fact that 20 or more Irish women leave Ireland every day to access abortion services

Don’t send her packing…….respect her right to choose

This is the call made by members of choice Ireland as they demonstrated outside the Dail. The group yesterday placed 20 suitcases outside Dail Eireann to represent the estimated 20 women each day that leave Ireland to access abortion services abroad. Recent statistics suggest that 14 women each day provide Irish addresses abortion clinics in Britain alone. Each of these women was represented by a suitcase each of which had a tag describing the circumstances in which that woman travelled for an abortion. These stories were adapted from “The Irish Journey” a book published by the IFPA which documents real life accounts of Irish women who have terminated a pregnancy.

Through the action choice Ireland also wanted to highlight the fact that this figure of 14 women a day does not encompass the increasing number of women the crisis pregnancy agency believe are travelling to other European countries due to the spiralling cost of abortions in England. Although direct statistics are not available the CPA are conducting an investigation into the other destinations visited by Irish women for abortion services. Choice Ireland however called attention to these women who are not included in statistics by placing 6 additional suitcases each carrying a flag representing each of the 6 countries believed to be the most popular destination for Irish “abortion tourists”.

A spokes person for the group Sinead Ahern said that “research has demonstrated that normally an abortion should be performed as early as possible in the pregnancy in order to reduce the risk of complications and minimize both psychological and physical pain”. The cost of an abortion in England is prohibitive sometimes costing upward of €1000 before travel costs and accommodation. By forcing a woman to travel the process if often delayed forcing women to have later term abortions. Irish women are forced to make clandestine flights to England endure financial hardship and the additional psychological stress of facing the procedure without the support of loved ones. The 20 suitcases aimed to highlight the additional burden placed on women seeking abortion by what choice Ireland spokeswoman Niav Keating described as an “Irish solution to an Irish problem”. “20 women will leave Ireland today , tomorrow and the day after that and there will continue to be 20 irish women every day packing a suitcase until the government decide to show women some respect and compassion and allow them to access what is clearly a needed service in their own country” commented Keating. Choice Ireland will hold a demonstration at 2pm in front of the Central Bank plaza this Saturday June 30th to highlight Irish women’s fight for reproductive rights.