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Abortion Care

IPPF works to ensure that every woman and girl has the human right to choose to be pregnant or not and we will continue to supply and support safe and legal abortion services and care. We are committed to reducing the number of deaths of women and girls who are forced to turn to unsafe abortion methods. Make Abortion Safe. Make Abortion Legal. For all Women and Girls. Everywhere.

Articles by Abortion Care

Dr Cliona Murphy, abortion rights Ireland,
12 February 2019

'We knew patients might want a termination and we had to say, ‘we can't help you’.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland  Dr Cliona Murphy, Consultant obstetrician gynaecologist During my medical training abortion really didn't enter the sphere. Like most Irish people I accepted it wasn’t part of our culture. We knew patients might want a termination and we had to say, ‘we can't help you’. I never really questioned that. That changed once I became a consultant. You see people in very difficult situations and you know that in obstetrics and gynaecology everything isn't black and white. I recall one patient who had a scan with a devastating diagnosis. Here were a couple who would never have imagined themselves wanting a termination but dealing with a situation where they needed to. I saw the toll it took on them. I also met patients looking for what was called a ‘social termination, which has connotations of unnecessary or poorly thought out. And yet when you delve down into a patient’s social circumstances I would not want to walk in their shoes. If you’ve lost a job, lost rent allowance, have small children to look after and are desperately trying to keep your head above water and then an unplanned pregnancy comes into it, it can be the final straw that breaks someone. I certainly came across people who I felt were suicidal and yet there could be a difference of medical opinion on how suicidal. All this splitting of hairs over how sick somebody needed to be to have a termination. The process was horrendous. And for a doctor there was always the spectre of the law behind your back if you did the wrong thing.

Catherine Forde, Irish Family Planning Association, abortion rights Ireland, repeal the 8th amendment
12 February 2019

'We were regularly called murderers. It was a time in Ireland when the Catholic church reigned supreme.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland Catherine Forde, Activist, barrister and former board member of the IFPA I first got involved during the 1982 campaign to insert the 8th Amendment (that the fetus has a right to life equal right to life of the mother into the Irish Constitution). No matter what one's opinion was on abortion, putting such a clause into our constitution showed complete and utter disrespect for women. It was clear to me this clause would give rise to legal difficulties and put women's lives in danger. I just thought this is unfair. This is wrong. It was a very bitter horrible campaign. We were threatened and intimidated when we canvassed on the streets. We were regularly called murderers. It was a time in Ireland when the Catholic church reigned supreme, and they reckoned they could say what they like and do what they liked. I, and a friend, formed a women's health group where we tried to do something about improving women's access to contraception because at that time even access to contraception was extremely limited. Then in 1984 I was asked to join the board of the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA).

Siobhán Silke, Communications Officer, Irish Family Planning Association, Repeal the 8th Amendment
12 February 2019

'For me the most important aspect of the campaign was the storytelling.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland  Siobhán Silke, Communications Officer, IFPA For me the most important aspect of the campaign was the storytelling. There was a time in the very recent past where you could count on one hand the number of women in Ireland who had publicly told their stories of abortion. In 2000, the Irish Family Planning Association published a book called The Irish Journey which was a collection of personal stories gathered from clients of our counselling service telling stories of their journeys, but it was still anonymous. Then a few years ago, members of Terminations for Medical Reasons - a campaign group involving women and couples who had diagnoses of a fatal fetal anomaly and had been forced to travel elsewhere for terminations - went on Irish TV with their faces showing, with their real names and told their stories. That emboldened and gave courage to others with different tales to come forward too. So, by 2018, there was a flood of women telling their stories. And it was it was really one of the most important parts of the campaign. I would say that no woman owes anybody her story. But their bravery was just incredible. Part of my job during the campaign was supporting the women and ensuring that they had a level of protection. I was conscious they had to tell their own story directly, so they’re not filtered. But it it's a delicate thing, because you're asking somebody who is already vulnerable put themselves in a position that could potentially make them more so. I would certainly say when a woman has told her story three or four times to three or four different journalists, that’s enough and it’s time to find someone else. It is also important as a campaigner to have good relationships with journalists. Be ready to respond. Because the other side always will be.

sincerely-media-vcF5y2Edm6A-unsplash.jpg
20 February 2019

'My personal reproductive rights journey began in 1989 when I was threatened with prison.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland  Ivana Bacik, Labour Party Senator, Dublin My personal reproductive rights journey began when I was President of the Student Union at Trinity College, Dublin in 1989 and I was threatened with prison. A pro-life group called The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) started to take legal cases against student’s unions and women's counselling centres to stop us from providing phone numbers and addresses of abortion clinics in England. Irish women had been travelling in large numbers to England over many years since abortion was legalized in England in 1967, so student unions helped them by providing information. In 1983 the people voted for the eighth amendment, a text inserted into the Irish constitution to guarantee the unborn an equal right to life to that of the mother. There was nothing in the eighth amendment about information, but it was used by SPUC. They won a legal case that if you give information to a woman in crisis pregnancy that might enable her to access abortion, therefore that's endangering the life of the unborn and therefore it's in breach of the Constitution. It was a big legal jump of interpretation to suggest that the eighth amendment should stop women from accessing information but that's what happened. The Students Union was taken to court and we were threatened with prison just for giving out information to women in crisis pregnancy. Our case generated huge outcry. We didn't get sent to jail because our legal counsel Mary Robinson (who went on to be first female President of Ireland) made a series of very important arguments based on European law and our case was sent to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. After that there was a series of referenda in 1992, and one of those guaranteed freedom of information. Since 1992 women can be given information on where to access abortion but it's subject to certain restrictions. For example, doctors and counsellors cannot refer a woman to a clinic in England. They can only give the information and she must make the appointment herself. This created more obstacles for women. It was particularly difficult for women with diagnoses of fatal fetal abnormality, where they're in a hospital in Ireland and yet their doctors can't refer them to a doctor in England to terminate their pregnancy. They can only just give them the phone number.

NIALL BEHAN, IRISH FAMILY PLANNNIN ASSOCIATION, REPEAL THE 8TH, ABORTION RIGHTS
12 February 2019

'We knew that to bring about that change we needed to have a mass movement.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland Niall Behan, Chief Executive, IFPA   The Irish Family Planning Association has a long track record of opposing restrictions on abortion in Ireland. It felt risky when we first started calling ourselves a pro-choice organization in a country where abortion was criminalized. But our view is good reproductive health services and rights for women must include abortion care. It’s a human rights approach. We knew the harmful impact the law had on women. We looked at what the best medical practice is. We had our own analysis and evidence based on what women told us in counselling. And then we applied that analysis to the abortion situation, and we felt that we had to go on the offensive and push back because we felt if we didn’t do it no one else would. We knew that to bring about that change we needed to have a mass movement. We needed to get a whole range of other civil society organizations involved, but that proved very difficult to do. We looked at the instruments we could use to push the argument forward - Human Rights Institutions such as the UN and European Court of Human Rights. We started making submissions to them. We were very conscious that women's voices were important, so we made them central to our litigation. Abortion was stigmatized and only a handful of women had ever spoken about their abortion experiences in Ireland. And there were very strong well-funded anti-choice groups who picketed clinics, targeted people or politicians who spoke out. They had a very strong voice within the mainstream media. As an organization we had a reputation as the voice of reason and that formed our communications strategy. We needed to start talking about the harms that Ireland’s abortion laws were having on women.  

IPPF EN
23 November 2018

Italian women’s lives at risk due to the negligence of the state

Is women’s reproductive safety a primary concern for hospitals in Italy, or is it not? Yesterday a gynecologist was fired in Naples for refusing to care for a patient who was having a miscarriage. The woman needed an emergency abortion but the doctor, despite the gravity of the situation, refused to intervene claiming the conscientious clause. One of the midwifes of the ER managed to find an off-duty doctor. He rushed to the hospital to operate on the patient and saved her life. Several days later he reported the misconduct of his colleague to the health authority. Only recently, the Prosecutor of Catania charged seven doctors with manslaughter relating to the death of Valentina Milluzzo. Valentina died at 32 years old because she was denied a pregnancy termination when she suffered a double miscarriage during her 19th week of pregnancy. Despite the suffering she was enduring and despite her families’ pleas for help she died in a hospital bed surrounded by medical professionals who refused care. It was unnecessary, cruel and unimaginable that medical staff would let her die. Another woman had risked her life in 2013 in Pordenone, not far from Verona. She was suffering a post-abortion haemorrhage. The doctor in the ER refused to intervene claiming the conscious clause, and had her medical licence removed because of her refusal. Many other women risk the same fate if action is not urgently taken by the health ministry to ensure proper implementation of the law. Seventy percent of Italian doctors choose to deny abortion care to women who need it, claiming it is against their own individual conscience; in some areas of Italy, this figure rises to 90%. Women’s lives and safety are in danger. Four Italian gynaecologists have launched a petition calling on the Ministry of Health to ensure the presence of doctors willing to provide full reproductive care including abortion in all hospitals 24 hours per day; to sanction the health departments that do not provide abortion care and to set up a free national helpline to support women turned away by their doctors. The petition has gathered over 100.000 signatures in a few days.  The initiative launched on the Change.org platform is supported by Rebel Network, by Differenza Donna, by DIRE, the network of women shelters and by IPPF European Network. Irene Donadio, Senior Adviser at IPPF EN, said “What happens in Italy is outrageous. Pregnant women should always ask their gynaecologists what they will do in case of complications with the pregnancy. Women have the right to know if their life and safety are not the ultimate concern of their doctor, particularly in the many regions in which refusal of care is the norm. The previous governments continued to deny the serious shortcoming, the reality cannot be denied anymore.” IPPF EN urges the Minister of Health in Italy to respect the dignity and rights of women and to ensure women’s reproductive safety becomes the most important moral concern. IPPF EN, together with its Italian partners - LAIGA, AIED and VITA DI DONNA - has for several years been at the forefront of litigation aimed at increasing access to abortion care.

IPPF EN
15 November 2018

Women’s Reproductive Safety – the most important moral concern

In Sicily, the Prosecutor of Catania ordered the trial of seven doctors in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Cannizzaro Hospital on a charge of manslaughter relating to the death of Valentina Milluzzo. Valentina died as a result of having been denied a pregnancy termination when she suffered a double miscarriage during her 19th week of pregnancy. Two years ago, these seven doctors stood by as a young, frightened woman endured hours of pain and fear, refusing to provide her with abortion care while there were still fetal heartbeats. Despite the clear deterioration of her condition and the pleadings of her family, the doctors left this patient to die an unnecessary, preventable death by denying her the medical intervention that could have saved her.    In Ireland, the death of Savita Halappanavar sparked an outcry that would lead to a revolution against the harm and misery inflicted on generations of women by Ireland’s abortion ban. In Italy, however, response to Valentina’s story has been strangely subdued. Despite its being covered in the news, this tragedy has had relatively low traction among the public. One might ask whether Valentina’s story has been perceived by Italians as an unfortunate aberration in normal practice, given that abortion is legal in Italy, and has been for some time. Sadly, this is not the case. Seven out of ten of Italian doctors choose to deny abortion care to women who need it, claiming it is against their own individual conscience; in some areas of Italy, this figure rises to 90%. The Italian medical establishment is notoriously conservative and is linked with the upper echelons of the Catholic Church. Top-down institutional pressure is so pervasive, that doctors who provide abortion care to women often find themselves isolated in the hospitals where they work, and their career progression may be obstructed. This suggests that denial of abortion care in Italy is less a matter of conscience and more of self-interest. This needs to be a salutary lesson for Ireland and other countries where religious norms hold residual power within hospitals. Shakespeare said: “Conscience is but a word cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe”. ‘Coward’ is indeed a designation one might apply to those whose professional concerns trump their responsibility to care for their patients. The unprecedented step of the Prosecutor of Catania shifts the ground for those whose conscience is invoked to maintain a harmful and degrading status quo. It is important to be aware that ‘objection of conscience’ is a concept specifically pushed by those who are against abortion and seek to limit it in contexts where it is legal. Even in Ireland, where a thoughtful and wide-ranging national conversation led to an overwhelming vote in support of women’s reproductive safety, objection of conscience is being invoked by those who seek to derail the democratic process. Those same forces that have ensured that there is only a small pool of tireless ‘non-objecting’ doctors willing to help Italian women are now at work in Ireland and throughout the world, pushing ideas born in far-right think tanks. These ideas can often seem reasonable, but in truth, they are a concerted attempt by reproductive bullies to limit women’s options.  We cannot deny that there are people with real and deep concerns about abortion – some of these people may be doctors, and some are even gynecologists and obstetricians. Notwithstanding this complex ethical debate, it is the health of the pregnant woman that must always be of paramount concern. We cannot allow the moral stance of the few to be taken and twisted into an establishment position by those whose aim is to restrict women’s reproductive freedom. If we do, both Savita and Valentina will have died for nothing. During the Irish Referendum, many doctors spoke about the need to place the patient at the heart of medical care, instead of privileging the individual moral stance of a doctor. The primary goal of any healthcare system is first and foremost to care for and protect its patients by providing quality care for all – the individual belief system of doctors should never compromise this goal.   Perhaps Italy is finally waking up. It is too late for Valentina and those who loved her, but perhaps, like Savita, she can become a beacon for the change that women need.  Let us work everywhere for a world where a doctor’s moral compass is firmly set to the needs and rights of the patient sitting in front of them, let us ensure that every woman has access to safe abortion care.   By Caroline Hickson, IPPF EN Regional Director   Originally published on Euractiv.

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26 September 2018

Standing firm against reproductive coercion

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are under threat in Europe, in a climate of growing attacks on human rights, democracy and civic space. Ultra-conservative forces are trying to stifle people’s reproductive freedom and impose a coercive worldview about gender roles in family and public lives. Their cruelest tactic is forcing women through pregnancy by promoting refusal of abortion care. IPPF European Network champions reproductive freedom and access to abortion care, adapting our approach to the reality and needs of women from Norway to Tajikistan. Our work ranges from ensuring women have a voice in decision-making spaces to supporting grassroot activists and civil society movements. From providing abortion care services, to supporting health care professionals to provide the safest, highest quality care. Our members and partners are campaigners, care providers and advocates.  Read Keti's story and our latest blog series to find out how women in Georgia are being denied safe and dignified reproductive lives, and how IPPF's Georgian member, HERA XXI, is helping to tackle this.

Post-its in Irish abortion referendum
29 May 2018

Irish "Yes" throws into focus countries that refuse to end forced pregnancy

When the exit polls late on 25 May predicted a massive landslide victory for the Yes campaign to repeal the 8th amendment of the Irish constitution, activists and campaigners barely dared to hope. But when the counting began the following morning, and Yes votes started trickling in from constituencies all over the country, it quickly became clear that a seismic change in public opinion on abortion had taken place. Young and old, female and male, urban and rural – the Irish people had decided that compassion and care must be the values governing women’s reproductive health and rights – replacing the decades-long Roman Catholic stranglehold characterized by coercion and abuse of women. With the 8th amendment now repealed, Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has committed to delivering legislation which legalizes abortion care on a woman’s own indication in the first trimester of pregnancy before the end of this year, bringing it in line with the majority of European countries. Women’s lives will be changed for the better, and as an Irishwoman I have never been so proud of my country. But the Yes vote has repercussions outside of Ireland, bringing into even sharper focus Europe’s outliers – those remaining countries that still refuse to end forced pregnancy, restricting access to safe and legal abortion care to the extent that it is virtually inaccessible to most women. In Northern Ireland, women and girls are denied abortion care even if they’ve been raped, been a victim of incest, or had a diagnosis of fetal abnormality. As the celebrations kicked off in Ireland this weekend, UK campaigners rightly stepped up their calls on the government and the Northern Ireland executive to recognize that this is no longer tenable and follow Ireland’s lead in placing compassion at the heart of women’s health care. In Poland, the legislation on abortion care is among the most restrictive in Europe. The Polish government has been making constant, fanatical efforts to further limit access in order to coerce women into moving through pregnancies against their will. We hope that the Irish example sends a strong signal to the Polish authorities that people’s care and compassion will triumph over absolutism and bullying. Just two weeks ago, Malta was reconfirmed and feted as Europe’s top champion of rights for LGBTI people. And yet it refuses to allow abortion care, even if the life of the pregnant woman is at stake, abandoning couples and families to fend for themselves when faced with a crisis pregnancy. It is hard to imagine a more selective application of compassionate values, and a more incoherent approach to the upholding of human rights. In the light of Ireland’s vote, the Maltese position looks even less credible, its inhumanity starker. And while Italy has required abortion care to be available to all women since it was legalized in 1978, the reality in 2018 is that widespread and growing denial of care by many doctors and other medical professionals (over 90% of gynecologists refuse to provide abortion care in some Italian regions) means that unsafe and illegal abortions are on the rise, with sometimes lethal consequences. This cruel and degrading treatment of the country’s women and girls is perpetrated on spurious grounds of individual conscience – a tactic that we see used systematically in countries around the world that do not believe in free and safe reproductive lives. The Italian government is complicit in its failure to act. These are some of the battles ahead, in a Europe where retrograde conservative forces work with right-wing governments to deny women control over their own bodies. Grassroots campaigners, NGOs and individual citizens will be buoyed by Ireland’s historic shift. There could be no clearer signal that Europeans are aligned in supporting abortion care based on the values of gender equality and solidarity. The EU institutions should be emboldened to take concrete actions to defend reproductive freedom in Europe. In this moment of optimism, we dare to hope that such an unequivocal triumph of compassion over coercion will bring us closer to making abortion care safe, legal and accessible for all women, everywhere. By Caroline Hickson, IPPF EN Regional Director This blog was originally published by Euractiv: Ireland’s Yes vote ushers in a new era for women’s rights in Europe

pussy hat
26 May 2018

Ireland’s Yes vote is a triumph of compassion over coercion

IPPF is overjoyed at the Irish people’s decision to remove the harmful ‘8th Amendment’ from Ireland’s constitution with today’s referendum result. IPPF’s Director General, Dr Alvaro Bermejo, said: “We wholeheartedly welcome this vote for change, which makes it possible for the Irish Parliament to legalise abortion care on a woman’s own indication in the first trimester of pregnancy, in line with the many other countries around the world which ensure women can access safe and legal abortion care when they need it.” Caroline Hickson, IPPF’s European Network Regional Director, said: “As an Irishwoman I know the 8th Amendment has harmed countless women physically, emotionally and psychologically for more than 30 years. The vote to remove it paves the way for a more compassionate and caring environment for women in Ireland. They will no longer be forced to access abortion outside the state or resort to unsafe and unregulated use of abortion pills obtained online and outside the law. Instead, women and girls who experience crisis pregnancies will be able to make personal, private decisions about their health care with the support of their doctors and loved ones. They will be able to receive proper care, in their country, when they are at their most vulnerable.” Dr Alvaro Bermejo added: “Ireland’s decision sends a signal around Europe and the world that people’s care and compassion can triumph over absolutism and coercion. We hope that it also gives courage to women and all those who support their fight against reproductive coercion in so many other places, and to all those countries where the Global Gag Rule is having devastating impact on access to sexual and reproductive health care. For all women everywhere, it’s time to end forced full pregnancy and make abortion care safe, legal and accessible. Today Ireland has shown us that positive change is possible.”

Dr Cliona Murphy, abortion rights Ireland,
12 February 2019

'We knew patients might want a termination and we had to say, ‘we can't help you’.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland  Dr Cliona Murphy, Consultant obstetrician gynaecologist During my medical training abortion really didn't enter the sphere. Like most Irish people I accepted it wasn’t part of our culture. We knew patients might want a termination and we had to say, ‘we can't help you’. I never really questioned that. That changed once I became a consultant. You see people in very difficult situations and you know that in obstetrics and gynaecology everything isn't black and white. I recall one patient who had a scan with a devastating diagnosis. Here were a couple who would never have imagined themselves wanting a termination but dealing with a situation where they needed to. I saw the toll it took on them. I also met patients looking for what was called a ‘social termination, which has connotations of unnecessary or poorly thought out. And yet when you delve down into a patient’s social circumstances I would not want to walk in their shoes. If you’ve lost a job, lost rent allowance, have small children to look after and are desperately trying to keep your head above water and then an unplanned pregnancy comes into it, it can be the final straw that breaks someone. I certainly came across people who I felt were suicidal and yet there could be a difference of medical opinion on how suicidal. All this splitting of hairs over how sick somebody needed to be to have a termination. The process was horrendous. And for a doctor there was always the spectre of the law behind your back if you did the wrong thing.

Catherine Forde, Irish Family Planning Association, abortion rights Ireland, repeal the 8th amendment
12 February 2019

'We were regularly called murderers. It was a time in Ireland when the Catholic church reigned supreme.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland Catherine Forde, Activist, barrister and former board member of the IFPA I first got involved during the 1982 campaign to insert the 8th Amendment (that the fetus has a right to life equal right to life of the mother into the Irish Constitution). No matter what one's opinion was on abortion, putting such a clause into our constitution showed complete and utter disrespect for women. It was clear to me this clause would give rise to legal difficulties and put women's lives in danger. I just thought this is unfair. This is wrong. It was a very bitter horrible campaign. We were threatened and intimidated when we canvassed on the streets. We were regularly called murderers. It was a time in Ireland when the Catholic church reigned supreme, and they reckoned they could say what they like and do what they liked. I, and a friend, formed a women's health group where we tried to do something about improving women's access to contraception because at that time even access to contraception was extremely limited. Then in 1984 I was asked to join the board of the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA).

Siobhán Silke, Communications Officer, Irish Family Planning Association, Repeal the 8th Amendment
12 February 2019

'For me the most important aspect of the campaign was the storytelling.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland  Siobhán Silke, Communications Officer, IFPA For me the most important aspect of the campaign was the storytelling. There was a time in the very recent past where you could count on one hand the number of women in Ireland who had publicly told their stories of abortion. In 2000, the Irish Family Planning Association published a book called The Irish Journey which was a collection of personal stories gathered from clients of our counselling service telling stories of their journeys, but it was still anonymous. Then a few years ago, members of Terminations for Medical Reasons - a campaign group involving women and couples who had diagnoses of a fatal fetal anomaly and had been forced to travel elsewhere for terminations - went on Irish TV with their faces showing, with their real names and told their stories. That emboldened and gave courage to others with different tales to come forward too. So, by 2018, there was a flood of women telling their stories. And it was it was really one of the most important parts of the campaign. I would say that no woman owes anybody her story. But their bravery was just incredible. Part of my job during the campaign was supporting the women and ensuring that they had a level of protection. I was conscious they had to tell their own story directly, so they’re not filtered. But it it's a delicate thing, because you're asking somebody who is already vulnerable put themselves in a position that could potentially make them more so. I would certainly say when a woman has told her story three or four times to three or four different journalists, that’s enough and it’s time to find someone else. It is also important as a campaigner to have good relationships with journalists. Be ready to respond. Because the other side always will be.

sincerely-media-vcF5y2Edm6A-unsplash.jpg
20 February 2019

'My personal reproductive rights journey began in 1989 when I was threatened with prison.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland  Ivana Bacik, Labour Party Senator, Dublin My personal reproductive rights journey began when I was President of the Student Union at Trinity College, Dublin in 1989 and I was threatened with prison. A pro-life group called The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) started to take legal cases against student’s unions and women's counselling centres to stop us from providing phone numbers and addresses of abortion clinics in England. Irish women had been travelling in large numbers to England over many years since abortion was legalized in England in 1967, so student unions helped them by providing information. In 1983 the people voted for the eighth amendment, a text inserted into the Irish constitution to guarantee the unborn an equal right to life to that of the mother. There was nothing in the eighth amendment about information, but it was used by SPUC. They won a legal case that if you give information to a woman in crisis pregnancy that might enable her to access abortion, therefore that's endangering the life of the unborn and therefore it's in breach of the Constitution. It was a big legal jump of interpretation to suggest that the eighth amendment should stop women from accessing information but that's what happened. The Students Union was taken to court and we were threatened with prison just for giving out information to women in crisis pregnancy. Our case generated huge outcry. We didn't get sent to jail because our legal counsel Mary Robinson (who went on to be first female President of Ireland) made a series of very important arguments based on European law and our case was sent to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. After that there was a series of referenda in 1992, and one of those guaranteed freedom of information. Since 1992 women can be given information on where to access abortion but it's subject to certain restrictions. For example, doctors and counsellors cannot refer a woman to a clinic in England. They can only give the information and she must make the appointment herself. This created more obstacles for women. It was particularly difficult for women with diagnoses of fatal fetal abnormality, where they're in a hospital in Ireland and yet their doctors can't refer them to a doctor in England to terminate their pregnancy. They can only just give them the phone number.

NIALL BEHAN, IRISH FAMILY PLANNNIN ASSOCIATION, REPEAL THE 8TH, ABORTION RIGHTS
12 February 2019

'We knew that to bring about that change we needed to have a mass movement.'

Abortion and the referendum in Ireland Niall Behan, Chief Executive, IFPA   The Irish Family Planning Association has a long track record of opposing restrictions on abortion in Ireland. It felt risky when we first started calling ourselves a pro-choice organization in a country where abortion was criminalized. But our view is good reproductive health services and rights for women must include abortion care. It’s a human rights approach. We knew the harmful impact the law had on women. We looked at what the best medical practice is. We had our own analysis and evidence based on what women told us in counselling. And then we applied that analysis to the abortion situation, and we felt that we had to go on the offensive and push back because we felt if we didn’t do it no one else would. We knew that to bring about that change we needed to have a mass movement. We needed to get a whole range of other civil society organizations involved, but that proved very difficult to do. We looked at the instruments we could use to push the argument forward - Human Rights Institutions such as the UN and European Court of Human Rights. We started making submissions to them. We were very conscious that women's voices were important, so we made them central to our litigation. Abortion was stigmatized and only a handful of women had ever spoken about their abortion experiences in Ireland. And there were very strong well-funded anti-choice groups who picketed clinics, targeted people or politicians who spoke out. They had a very strong voice within the mainstream media. As an organization we had a reputation as the voice of reason and that formed our communications strategy. We needed to start talking about the harms that Ireland’s abortion laws were having on women.  

IPPF EN
23 November 2018

Italian women’s lives at risk due to the negligence of the state

Is women’s reproductive safety a primary concern for hospitals in Italy, or is it not? Yesterday a gynecologist was fired in Naples for refusing to care for a patient who was having a miscarriage. The woman needed an emergency abortion but the doctor, despite the gravity of the situation, refused to intervene claiming the conscientious clause. One of the midwifes of the ER managed to find an off-duty doctor. He rushed to the hospital to operate on the patient and saved her life. Several days later he reported the misconduct of his colleague to the health authority. Only recently, the Prosecutor of Catania charged seven doctors with manslaughter relating to the death of Valentina Milluzzo. Valentina died at 32 years old because she was denied a pregnancy termination when she suffered a double miscarriage during her 19th week of pregnancy. Despite the suffering she was enduring and despite her families’ pleas for help she died in a hospital bed surrounded by medical professionals who refused care. It was unnecessary, cruel and unimaginable that medical staff would let her die. Another woman had risked her life in 2013 in Pordenone, not far from Verona. She was suffering a post-abortion haemorrhage. The doctor in the ER refused to intervene claiming the conscious clause, and had her medical licence removed because of her refusal. Many other women risk the same fate if action is not urgently taken by the health ministry to ensure proper implementation of the law. Seventy percent of Italian doctors choose to deny abortion care to women who need it, claiming it is against their own individual conscience; in some areas of Italy, this figure rises to 90%. Women’s lives and safety are in danger. Four Italian gynaecologists have launched a petition calling on the Ministry of Health to ensure the presence of doctors willing to provide full reproductive care including abortion in all hospitals 24 hours per day; to sanction the health departments that do not provide abortion care and to set up a free national helpline to support women turned away by their doctors. The petition has gathered over 100.000 signatures in a few days.  The initiative launched on the Change.org platform is supported by Rebel Network, by Differenza Donna, by DIRE, the network of women shelters and by IPPF European Network. Irene Donadio, Senior Adviser at IPPF EN, said “What happens in Italy is outrageous. Pregnant women should always ask their gynaecologists what they will do in case of complications with the pregnancy. Women have the right to know if their life and safety are not the ultimate concern of their doctor, particularly in the many regions in which refusal of care is the norm. The previous governments continued to deny the serious shortcoming, the reality cannot be denied anymore.” IPPF EN urges the Minister of Health in Italy to respect the dignity and rights of women and to ensure women’s reproductive safety becomes the most important moral concern. IPPF EN, together with its Italian partners - LAIGA, AIED and VITA DI DONNA - has for several years been at the forefront of litigation aimed at increasing access to abortion care.

IPPF EN
15 November 2018

Women’s Reproductive Safety – the most important moral concern

In Sicily, the Prosecutor of Catania ordered the trial of seven doctors in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Cannizzaro Hospital on a charge of manslaughter relating to the death of Valentina Milluzzo. Valentina died as a result of having been denied a pregnancy termination when she suffered a double miscarriage during her 19th week of pregnancy. Two years ago, these seven doctors stood by as a young, frightened woman endured hours of pain and fear, refusing to provide her with abortion care while there were still fetal heartbeats. Despite the clear deterioration of her condition and the pleadings of her family, the doctors left this patient to die an unnecessary, preventable death by denying her the medical intervention that could have saved her.    In Ireland, the death of Savita Halappanavar sparked an outcry that would lead to a revolution against the harm and misery inflicted on generations of women by Ireland’s abortion ban. In Italy, however, response to Valentina’s story has been strangely subdued. Despite its being covered in the news, this tragedy has had relatively low traction among the public. One might ask whether Valentina’s story has been perceived by Italians as an unfortunate aberration in normal practice, given that abortion is legal in Italy, and has been for some time. Sadly, this is not the case. Seven out of ten of Italian doctors choose to deny abortion care to women who need it, claiming it is against their own individual conscience; in some areas of Italy, this figure rises to 90%. The Italian medical establishment is notoriously conservative and is linked with the upper echelons of the Catholic Church. Top-down institutional pressure is so pervasive, that doctors who provide abortion care to women often find themselves isolated in the hospitals where they work, and their career progression may be obstructed. This suggests that denial of abortion care in Italy is less a matter of conscience and more of self-interest. This needs to be a salutary lesson for Ireland and other countries where religious norms hold residual power within hospitals. Shakespeare said: “Conscience is but a word cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe”. ‘Coward’ is indeed a designation one might apply to those whose professional concerns trump their responsibility to care for their patients. The unprecedented step of the Prosecutor of Catania shifts the ground for those whose conscience is invoked to maintain a harmful and degrading status quo. It is important to be aware that ‘objection of conscience’ is a concept specifically pushed by those who are against abortion and seek to limit it in contexts where it is legal. Even in Ireland, where a thoughtful and wide-ranging national conversation led to an overwhelming vote in support of women’s reproductive safety, objection of conscience is being invoked by those who seek to derail the democratic process. Those same forces that have ensured that there is only a small pool of tireless ‘non-objecting’ doctors willing to help Italian women are now at work in Ireland and throughout the world, pushing ideas born in far-right think tanks. These ideas can often seem reasonable, but in truth, they are a concerted attempt by reproductive bullies to limit women’s options.  We cannot deny that there are people with real and deep concerns about abortion – some of these people may be doctors, and some are even gynecologists and obstetricians. Notwithstanding this complex ethical debate, it is the health of the pregnant woman that must always be of paramount concern. We cannot allow the moral stance of the few to be taken and twisted into an establishment position by those whose aim is to restrict women’s reproductive freedom. If we do, both Savita and Valentina will have died for nothing. During the Irish Referendum, many doctors spoke about the need to place the patient at the heart of medical care, instead of privileging the individual moral stance of a doctor. The primary goal of any healthcare system is first and foremost to care for and protect its patients by providing quality care for all – the individual belief system of doctors should never compromise this goal.   Perhaps Italy is finally waking up. It is too late for Valentina and those who loved her, but perhaps, like Savita, she can become a beacon for the change that women need.  Let us work everywhere for a world where a doctor’s moral compass is firmly set to the needs and rights of the patient sitting in front of them, let us ensure that every woman has access to safe abortion care.   By Caroline Hickson, IPPF EN Regional Director   Originally published on Euractiv.

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26 September 2018

Standing firm against reproductive coercion

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are under threat in Europe, in a climate of growing attacks on human rights, democracy and civic space. Ultra-conservative forces are trying to stifle people’s reproductive freedom and impose a coercive worldview about gender roles in family and public lives. Their cruelest tactic is forcing women through pregnancy by promoting refusal of abortion care. IPPF European Network champions reproductive freedom and access to abortion care, adapting our approach to the reality and needs of women from Norway to Tajikistan. Our work ranges from ensuring women have a voice in decision-making spaces to supporting grassroot activists and civil society movements. From providing abortion care services, to supporting health care professionals to provide the safest, highest quality care. Our members and partners are campaigners, care providers and advocates.  Read Keti's story and our latest blog series to find out how women in Georgia are being denied safe and dignified reproductive lives, and how IPPF's Georgian member, HERA XXI, is helping to tackle this.

Post-its in Irish abortion referendum
29 May 2018

Irish "Yes" throws into focus countries that refuse to end forced pregnancy

When the exit polls late on 25 May predicted a massive landslide victory for the Yes campaign to repeal the 8th amendment of the Irish constitution, activists and campaigners barely dared to hope. But when the counting began the following morning, and Yes votes started trickling in from constituencies all over the country, it quickly became clear that a seismic change in public opinion on abortion had taken place. Young and old, female and male, urban and rural – the Irish people had decided that compassion and care must be the values governing women’s reproductive health and rights – replacing the decades-long Roman Catholic stranglehold characterized by coercion and abuse of women. With the 8th amendment now repealed, Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has committed to delivering legislation which legalizes abortion care on a woman’s own indication in the first trimester of pregnancy before the end of this year, bringing it in line with the majority of European countries. Women’s lives will be changed for the better, and as an Irishwoman I have never been so proud of my country. But the Yes vote has repercussions outside of Ireland, bringing into even sharper focus Europe’s outliers – those remaining countries that still refuse to end forced pregnancy, restricting access to safe and legal abortion care to the extent that it is virtually inaccessible to most women. In Northern Ireland, women and girls are denied abortion care even if they’ve been raped, been a victim of incest, or had a diagnosis of fetal abnormality. As the celebrations kicked off in Ireland this weekend, UK campaigners rightly stepped up their calls on the government and the Northern Ireland executive to recognize that this is no longer tenable and follow Ireland’s lead in placing compassion at the heart of women’s health care. In Poland, the legislation on abortion care is among the most restrictive in Europe. The Polish government has been making constant, fanatical efforts to further limit access in order to coerce women into moving through pregnancies against their will. We hope that the Irish example sends a strong signal to the Polish authorities that people’s care and compassion will triumph over absolutism and bullying. Just two weeks ago, Malta was reconfirmed and feted as Europe’s top champion of rights for LGBTI people. And yet it refuses to allow abortion care, even if the life of the pregnant woman is at stake, abandoning couples and families to fend for themselves when faced with a crisis pregnancy. It is hard to imagine a more selective application of compassionate values, and a more incoherent approach to the upholding of human rights. In the light of Ireland’s vote, the Maltese position looks even less credible, its inhumanity starker. And while Italy has required abortion care to be available to all women since it was legalized in 1978, the reality in 2018 is that widespread and growing denial of care by many doctors and other medical professionals (over 90% of gynecologists refuse to provide abortion care in some Italian regions) means that unsafe and illegal abortions are on the rise, with sometimes lethal consequences. This cruel and degrading treatment of the country’s women and girls is perpetrated on spurious grounds of individual conscience – a tactic that we see used systematically in countries around the world that do not believe in free and safe reproductive lives. The Italian government is complicit in its failure to act. These are some of the battles ahead, in a Europe where retrograde conservative forces work with right-wing governments to deny women control over their own bodies. Grassroots campaigners, NGOs and individual citizens will be buoyed by Ireland’s historic shift. There could be no clearer signal that Europeans are aligned in supporting abortion care based on the values of gender equality and solidarity. The EU institutions should be emboldened to take concrete actions to defend reproductive freedom in Europe. In this moment of optimism, we dare to hope that such an unequivocal triumph of compassion over coercion will bring us closer to making abortion care safe, legal and accessible for all women, everywhere. By Caroline Hickson, IPPF EN Regional Director This blog was originally published by Euractiv: Ireland’s Yes vote ushers in a new era for women’s rights in Europe

pussy hat
26 May 2018

Ireland’s Yes vote is a triumph of compassion over coercion

IPPF is overjoyed at the Irish people’s decision to remove the harmful ‘8th Amendment’ from Ireland’s constitution with today’s referendum result. IPPF’s Director General, Dr Alvaro Bermejo, said: “We wholeheartedly welcome this vote for change, which makes it possible for the Irish Parliament to legalise abortion care on a woman’s own indication in the first trimester of pregnancy, in line with the many other countries around the world which ensure women can access safe and legal abortion care when they need it.” Caroline Hickson, IPPF’s European Network Regional Director, said: “As an Irishwoman I know the 8th Amendment has harmed countless women physically, emotionally and psychologically for more than 30 years. The vote to remove it paves the way for a more compassionate and caring environment for women in Ireland. They will no longer be forced to access abortion outside the state or resort to unsafe and unregulated use of abortion pills obtained online and outside the law. Instead, women and girls who experience crisis pregnancies will be able to make personal, private decisions about their health care with the support of their doctors and loved ones. They will be able to receive proper care, in their country, when they are at their most vulnerable.” Dr Alvaro Bermejo added: “Ireland’s decision sends a signal around Europe and the world that people’s care and compassion can triumph over absolutism and coercion. We hope that it also gives courage to women and all those who support their fight against reproductive coercion in so many other places, and to all those countries where the Global Gag Rule is having devastating impact on access to sexual and reproductive health care. For all women everywhere, it’s time to end forced full pregnancy and make abortion care safe, legal and accessible. Today Ireland has shown us that positive change is possible.”