The Stormont debate on abortion shows how far Northern Ireland still has to go before women’s rights are recognised.
Justice Minister David Ford says he accepts abortion should be available in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. But he rules out abortion for women pregnant as a result of incest or rape.
The main questions being posed in the Assembly debate are: What indications of fatal foetal abnormality must there be before a woman is allowed a legal termination? And, how can we be sure that a pregnant woman who says she has been raped or violated by incest isn’t making it up just to get an abortion?
These are insulting questions. They rule out any notion that women might have a right to choose for themselves. The consultation paper which Ford put before the Assembly declared that: "It is relatively easy to say that we need to address cases where pregnancy has been the result of rape or incest, but there are other situations which need to be considered in order to cover all possible circumstances ...The situations in which women and girls may become pregnant as a result of criminal offending behaviour extend beyond the scope of the offence of rape, or incestuous sexual activity." What he's saying is that making rape or incest a reason for allowing abortion might leave out other relevant situations. So let's ditch rape and incest altogether as reasons for allowing abortion.This is not just deeply reactionary, it doesn't even make sense.
The main result of this approach is that women in the North pregnant as a result of rape will be told that, irrespective of their own convictions or wishes, they must carry the rapist’s child to full term. What gives David Ford or any other politician a right to say that to any woman? Candidates for the Assembly who are against legal abortion in cases of rape or incest should explain why they think this is reasonable and why they believe women should accept it.
People Before Profit says that when a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy and considers the implications for her own life and consults her own conscience, then she should be supported in whatever decision she makes. It is the woman who must decide what to do. This is what is meant by “the right to choose.” To deny this right is to say that women can't be trusted. Politicians, churchmen, "pro-lifers" etc, all have a right to their opinion. They don't have a right to impose their opinion on women.
People Before Profit MLAs would support the reforms put forward in the Assembly. But we think the debate between the main parties is too shallow and too narrow. We argue for a deeper examination not just of the legal position but of how women’s rights are to be vindicated in this society.
This issue has long been bogged down in Stormont procedures. We believe that the best way of ensuring real change is through the mobilisation of the pro-choice majority against the political and religious backwoods elements who have been held the rest of us back for far too long. This is why we are involved in Alliance for Choice and in the pro-choice movement generally.
This is the view we will be putting to the electorates of Foyle, West Belfast and North Belfast
Justice Minister David Ford says he accepts abortion should be available in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. But he rules out abortion for women pregnant as a result of incest or rape.
The main questions being posed in the Assembly debate are: What indications of fatal foetal abnormality must there be before a woman is allowed a legal termination? And, how can we be sure that a pregnant woman who says she has been raped or violated by incest isn’t making it up just to get an abortion?
These are insulting questions. They rule out any notion that women might have a right to choose for themselves. The consultation paper which Ford put before the Assembly declared that: "It is relatively easy to say that we need to address cases where pregnancy has been the result of rape or incest, but there are other situations which need to be considered in order to cover all possible circumstances ...The situations in which women and girls may become pregnant as a result of criminal offending behaviour extend beyond the scope of the offence of rape, or incestuous sexual activity." What he's saying is that making rape or incest a reason for allowing abortion might leave out other relevant situations. So let's ditch rape and incest altogether as reasons for allowing abortion.This is not just deeply reactionary, it doesn't even make sense.
The main result of this approach is that women in the North pregnant as a result of rape will be told that, irrespective of their own convictions or wishes, they must carry the rapist’s child to full term. What gives David Ford or any other politician a right to say that to any woman? Candidates for the Assembly who are against legal abortion in cases of rape or incest should explain why they think this is reasonable and why they believe women should accept it.
People Before Profit says that when a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy and considers the implications for her own life and consults her own conscience, then she should be supported in whatever decision she makes. It is the woman who must decide what to do. This is what is meant by “the right to choose.” To deny this right is to say that women can't be trusted. Politicians, churchmen, "pro-lifers" etc, all have a right to their opinion. They don't have a right to impose their opinion on women.
People Before Profit MLAs would support the reforms put forward in the Assembly. But we think the debate between the main parties is too shallow and too narrow. We argue for a deeper examination not just of the legal position but of how women’s rights are to be vindicated in this society.
This issue has long been bogged down in Stormont procedures. We believe that the best way of ensuring real change is through the mobilisation of the pro-choice majority against the political and religious backwoods elements who have been held the rest of us back for far too long. This is why we are involved in Alliance for Choice and in the pro-choice movement generally.
This is the view we will be putting to the electorates of Foyle, West Belfast and North Belfast
