Marie Stopes: Ireland's restrictive abortion laws challenged in landmark case

Friday, 11 December 2009 12:00 AM

The Republic of Ireland's strict abortion ban is being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg. Three women living in Ireland, known for the purpose of this case as A, B and C, are challenging the country's restrictive abortion legislation and constitutional rule which affords unconditional protection to "the life of the unborn", on the grounds that they jeopardised their own human rights during pregnancy. Anne Quesney, Policy & Parliamentary Adviser for UK / Europe, Marie Stopes International, makes the following statement:

"Marie Stopes International welcomes the legal challenge as an opportunity to decriminalise abortion in Ireland, which continues to have one of Europe's most punishing laws on abortion. We fully support the case put forward by these three women who faced difficult, even life threatening, circumstances during their pregnancies, yet were denied a procedure which in many countries is part of everyday healthcare.

Thousands of women call Marie Stopes International's 24/7 advice line every year to access information on the options available to them when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, since unbiased information can be difficult to access in Ireland. Women who choose to end their pregnancy are then forced to travel to access the procedure. In 2008, 4,600 women from the Irish Republic travelled to England and Wales to access an abortion.1

Women may have to travel alone, as they are unable to afford to pay for someone to travel with them to provide support. This may come at huge emotional cost to them. Some women are likely to face delays in accessing the abortion, due to the unavailability of accurate information, money constraints and travel time - this inevitably leads to the abortion taking place at a later stage of gestation than necessary and may also limit women's choice of method. Early medical abortion ('the abortion pill'), for instance, is only available up to the ninth week of pregnancy.

We at Marie Stopes International witness first hand the huge burden that Ireland's draconian abortion laws place on women, their partners and families. We believe that all women should be able to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, and have access to the full range of family planning services, including information, so they are empowered to make informed decisions about whether and when to have children. We hope that the current case will set a precedent and bring about much needed change."

Ends

For media enquiries please contact:

Emily James: 0207 034 2307 / 07815 009257

For further information on the facts of the case please contact the Irish Family Planning Association on 00 353 1 806 9444

Notes to editors:

Marie Stopes International (MSI) is a specialist organisation providing expert and confidential care and support to men and women of all ages in relation to their sexual and reproductive healthcare, including unplanned pregnancy advice and services and contraceptive provision. For further information visit www.mariestopes.org.uk or call 0845 300 8090.

1.http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset

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