 Press Release
Saturday, September 29th 2012 For immediate use “Political will, not public opinion, is preventing action on abortion” The Irish Feminist Network will today (Saturday, September 29th) participate along with thousands of others in a March for Choice to mark the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion and celebrate their support for a woman’s right to choose. IFN co-ordinator Alison Spillane said, “Today is a historic day – not only are we marking the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion but we are also reminding the government that this issue is not going away. The most recent opinion poll (Sunday Times, September 16th 2012) shows that 80% of the electorate support access to abortion when a woman’s life is at risk, as per the X case judgment. It is clear that political will, not public opinion, is holding this issue back.” “The government’s expert group was initially due to report in July of this year before the deadline was extended to September – we are now at the end of the month and no report has been published. The government must immediately make public the findings of the expert group and legislate for X”, she said. “Today we march in solidarity with over 150,000 women who, since 1980, have been forced out of this country to access abortion services abroad and together we demand change to Ireland’s archaic and barbaric abortion laws”. ENDS Notes to the editor: The Irish Feminist Network is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting gender equality in Ireland. With over 3,000 online supporters, it is the fastest growing feminist organisation in the country. The March for Choice will start at the Spire on O’Connell Street at 2pm before proceeding to Merrion Square. Speakers include Clare Daly TD, Senator Ivana Bacik and journalist Colette Browne.
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 Action on X
Public Meeting Twenty Years After X: Where Are Our Rights? Tuesday, February 21st, 7.30pm, Gresham Hotel, O’Connell Street Facebook event: RSVP here Speakers include:
On February 21st, 1992, the High Court issued a permanent injunction which barred a 14-year-old girl, known only as X, from leaving the country to terminate her pregnancy, the result of rape. Two weeks later the Supreme Court ruled that when a pregnant woman’s life is in danger, including from suicide, she has the right to an abortion here in Ireland. Yet in 2012 after all the expert committees, after two referendums in which the people vindicated a woman’s right to life-saving abortion, after several court rulings doing the same and an acknowledgment from Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore that such legislation is necessary – all we’ve got is another expert committee. The delay is inexcusable and unacceptable. Legislation is long overdue. The courts have ruled, the people have spoken – it's time for the Government to act. The Action on X Alliance had been formed by concerned groups and individuals to campaign on the immediate passing of this ruling into law as directed by the Supreme Court and also one year after the C case judgment in the European Court of Human Rights. |
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