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Shameful lack of urgency on abortion persists

10/12/2012

Placard beeing held up with an image of Savita Halappanavar along with the words 'Savita Deserved Better, all women do!'

CLARA FISCHER

OPINION : The response to the Savita case tells us women’s lives don’t merit speedy action

Five weeks have passed since Savita Halappanavar’s tragic death in an Irish hospital. While much has been written on the circumstances, not much has been said about the messages conveyed by the story to the women of Ireland, and the further contextualisation of those messages in the wider debate on women’s reproductive rights.

The last five weeks have witnessed not, as should be expected in a civilised country, decisive action to protect women’s lives, but a continuation of the shameful 20-year tradition of political inaction that has prevailed in Ireland at least since the X case.

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Letters to the Editor - Reaction to Budget 2012

9/12/2011

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A chara, – In light of research showing that the most vulnerable groups are already disproportionately paying for the misdeeds of bankers, regulators and inept politicians, Budget 2012 displays a stunning lack of empathy by the Labour-Fine Gael Government.

Cuts in child benefit for large families, changes to the One-Parent Family Payment, and the targeting of young disabled people through cuts in disability benefit are just some of the retrograde measures introduced in this Budget, which further threaten to entrench inequality in this country.

Fortunately though for our political elite, they need not actually learn of the experiences of women, the disabled, and a host of other groups attacked in Budget 2012, given that they’ve also reduced funding to or entirely annihilated their respective representative bodies. As the National Women’s Council, Safe Ireland, and People with Disabilities in Ireland, among others, take the hit, and with them the people they support, it really appears to be true what they say: ignorance is bliss. – Is mise,

Dr CLARA FISCHER,
Co-ordinator,
Irish Feminist Network

Link: http://www.irishtimes.com/letters/

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Shameful lack of urgency on abortion persists

Letters to the Editor - Reaction to Budget 2012

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