Marian Larragy’s (for the LIFN) Letter to the Editor, published in the Irish World, 03/05/14:
Of course the shared history of Ireland and Britain on abortion should be remembered, but the lessons to draw are not necessarily those suggested by Ann Campbell in her letter of 26th April, ‘Spare a thought for this shared history’.
The 1967 Act in Britain (it does not apply in Northern Ireland) did not gently change the number of pregnancies terminated by women. What it did do was to recognise the reality of the choices that women were sometimes faced with. The reality is that 12 women a day, or perhaps 150,000 women in total since 1967, have needed to travel to England to seek the care they need. This is a political failure to face up to reality, in Ireland south and north. We have the technical means both to help prevent unwanted pregnancies and to terminate unwanted pregnancies at a very early stage and it is more than time that both Irish states facilitated proper use of these medical advances in ways that respect the dignity of women and a woman’s right to protect her health and her life by exercising responsible judgement.
Marian Larragy
London Irish Feminist Network
London NW1
london irish feminist network 