Why Northern Ireland is incompatible with woman's rights #abortion

When the High Court in Belfast ruled last month that Northern Ireland's abortion legislation was "incompatible" with human rights law, I expected there to be some objections. However, with both the Attorney General and Justice Minister lodging appeals against that decision.

Now the Justice Minister unlike the Attorney General admits that some change does need to be made to Northern Ireland's abortion laws, his words show a certain bias none the less. David Ford has said:

"The judgement from the High Court does not fully clarify the law and potentially leaves open the possibility there could be abortion on demand in Northern Ireland on an even wider basis than is the case in the rest of the United Kingdom."

Firstly the use of the phrase abortion of demand ignores the fact that many Northern Irish women already access abortion within the confines of the law in the rest of the UK. The way to stop there being legal challenges as to the compatibility with human rights law is to act in a positive direction to relax the restrictions not challenge a ruling that says you need to act.

What they need most is support prior and post the terminations which do happen. We need that support on demand! Hoiwever, with the current archaic laws in Northern Ireland they fear being arrested for taking whatever means they have done to terminate a pregnancy. The fact that future gynecological issues may arise because of earlier terminations, but such women in Northern Ireland may fear seeking assistance for these because of their secret, taboo, history.

I do not think any makes a decision for termination lightly. It is an emotive subject with heated arguments on both sides of the debates. But the people for who it is the most emotive are not the protesters outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast, not are they the feminists who stand up loudly against just such protesters. Not the people for whom this is most emotive are of course the women carrying the foetus/unborn child (depending on your viewpoint) and those who care for them secondly.

So while we continue to fail to move any distance on abortion here in Northern Ireland we are incompatible with human rights law and that is we are enslaving many women to a live of fear of authorities finding out what they may have done in their past, or might have to consider in the future.

Personally I want to see the 1967 Act extended to Northern Ireland but I certainly believe we need to go some distance further than even the limited position that the Department of Justice has said it is prepared to move.

The Northern Ireland abortion consultation

There is a letter in today's Belfast Telegraph arguing for human rights for the unborn, in light of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice looking at extending the right to abortion to fatal foetal abnormalities and victims of rape.

Here's the thing there already is the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine which includes two very clear articles that address issues:

Article 14 – Non-selection of sex 

The use of techniques of medically assisted procreation shall not be allowed for the purpose of choosing a future child's sex, except where serious hereditary sex-related disease is to be avoided.

Article 18 – Research on embryos in vitro 

1. Where the law allows research on embryos in vitro, it shall ensure adequate protection of the embryo. 
2. The creation of human embryos for research purposes is prohibited.

Another document to consult is the UN Declaration on Human Rights. In Article 1 there is lays out what a human being actually is:

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Keys words are born, reason and conscience. Surely that implies that our human existance only begins at the point of our birth.

But having said that the embryo articles in the biomedicine convention do give some protections even before then. Indeed Article 14 would seem to allow by extension to allow for the three parent medical assistance for overcoming mitochondrial diseases. It is not choosing gender specific related disease but still allowing avoidance of serious disease.

Someone in the comments used a very good analogy in relation to fatal foetal abnormalities, comparing it to life support machines. We allow families to turn off the life support of those whose brain is no longer conscious and able to support their life with the system. The same applies to fatal foetal abnormalities, their life support machine is the mother's womb and the tubes they are linked up to are the umbilical chord. We don't make families wait up to 9 months to turn off the life support machine, so why should this be different for fatal foetal abnormalities?

As for victims of rape turn again to the UN Declaration on Human Right

Article 5.

 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

If you have been raped and are made to carry your pregnancy full term is that not cruel? Is that not degrading treatment? Think of all the times once the bump starts to show that a mother is asked "will the father be looking after you both" or "who's the father?". Aren't these also parts of a cruel punishment for a woman whose body has been invaded not just in the brief minutes of the assault but for the 9 months that cruel, often male, objectors insist she must live with the evidence of a low point in here existence.

DUP selective British rights: The Driver's Licence Clause

Yesterday DUP MP for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson said:

"British Citizens in Northern Ireland deserve the same rights as the rest of the UK."

However, this was not about the rights of NI LGBT people to have the right to marry whom they choose. Nor is it to defend the Equality Act in full, in face of his colleague Paul Givan's conscience clause. Nor it is a freeing up of abortion legislation, no a whole gamut of rights issues that the people of Northern Ireland are the only ones in the UK to have equally with the rest of the UK.

No. This was about the change in driving licence design that in England, Wales and Scotland will not display the Union Flag alongside the European Union Flag, but in Northern Ireland will retain just the flag of the EU.

Of course this comes mere weeks after once again the main parties failed to come to any agreement on symbols and flags (amongst other issues) once again, and merely passed this on to another commission. So it is hardly surprising that flag controversy once again hits Northern Ireland when it is an issue that after over 16 years of talking we have yet to reach a consensus on.

But once again the argument from Donaldson shows the duplicity of the DUP. They use the argument of British Citizens having the same rights as the rest of the UK when it suits them, but with the other hand will argue that Northern Ireland is different from the rest of the UK when it comes to things like LGBT rights, abortion and other issues if it suits them politically with their base.

Sorry Jeffrey I'm not going to let you, or any member of the DUP, get away with playing the British rights card when you deny me the same rights as I would experience elsewhere in the UK because of my sexual orientation. Especially in light of Cllr Maurice "gays caused Hurricane Katrina" Mills becoming a Member of the British Empire in the New Year Honours, while LGBT British citizens are seen as less than full UK citizens with the same rights by the DUP I shall continue to hold institutional homophobia from Mr Donaldson's party to account.

Precious harassment

Some of the first words to come out of Mrs Bernadette Smyth's lawyer's mouth this afternoon was that the verdict was "a disappointment for Christians worldwide".

In light of the accusations of bullying in certain Christian quarters in Northern Ireland about another matter this is a bit rich. For those not aware of the antics of Mrs Smyth's Precious Life organisation they regular in large numbers stand outside the Marie Stopes centre in Belfast, questioning any woman of child bearing age who approaches the premises and asks them why they are going in.

The clinic has offered sexual and reproductive healthcare and early medical abortions within Northern Ireland's laws since it opened on Great Victoria Street in October 2012. But the harassment of those who regularly stand outside and picket is something that scares and horrifies a lot of us who have witnessed it. These are women many of whom are vulnerable enough, to actually have them take the steps of going through that barrage takes a certain amount of additional bravely that women do not have to encounter for similar advise elsewhere in the UK.

The particular allegations against Mrs Smyth come against Dawn Purvis the former PUP MLA who is now the director of the centre. On one occasion Ms Purvis asked the crowd to stop harassing her, only for Mrs Smyth to retort, "You ain't seen harassment yet, darling." This she denied until it was shown to her on CCTV when her story reverted to it being a joke.

On another occasion the venom was aimed at a female friend of Ms Purvis's son as they left the offices together having stopped in to leave some frozen food in the office. On this occasion Mrs Smyth followed the young woman up the street to carry on harassing her.

The lawyer is right about something, this is a disappointment for Christians worldwide, but not the verdict. The bible doesn't tell you to go out harassing those who disagree with you. It doesn't tell you to leave them fearing for their lives at your, or your acolytes' hands. The disappointment to Christian's worldwide is Mrs Smyth an the way she has gone about disagreeing with something. The way she and her followers make people who already feel vulnerable feel worse as they approach the centre. They say they are reaching out in love, but in essence as the court has ruled today they are really reaching out with hate.

Mrs Smyth was warned today that she could even face a prison sentence for her actions, but is already facing an injunction about being outside the Marie Stopes Centre.

New Minister of Health

So who have the DUP gone and replaced Edwin Poots with as Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Why none other than their member for South Down Jim Wells.

The question is whose health etc will be looking after?

In 2011 the new Health Minister said that the behaviour of those who took part the march at Belfast Pride was "totally repugnant". Now that he is a minister he should not be judging and without evidence generalising such a group of LGBT Northern Irish people, plus their families and supporters. He should be providing health and social services to them without discrimination as well as working to improve their public safety. So yeah this does include proper sex education and that included MSM sex as well as disease prevention. he may not condone the activity but he has budgetary responsibility for the consequences.

But that is that the only group whose health in now in the hands of this man. The following year he said that victims of rape and sexual assault should not be exempt from the strict Northern Irish laws banning abortion. His plan instead, contrary to the opinion of many medical professionals, is that such traumatised women should carry the child full term and offer it up for adoption. This of course means that the trauma of the assault would have to be revisited 9 months after the incident as well as the various times during that period that the mother has to go through pregnancy.

What is worse of course is that Mr Wells made these comments while Deputy Chair of the Health Committee and has long been muted as the replacement for Mr Poots. It looks like we have lost one science sceptic from the health department for one just as, if not more so, sceptical person. Who seems to ignore medical advise, scientific evidence and has a way with language that is ill thought out and offensive to groups which he now has some say over key elements of their well being.

We live in interesting times, but then so was the days of the dinosaurs.

Precious Life but some are more valued than others

Bernadette Smyth the director of Precious Life, an anti-abortion group in Northern Ireland, has finally let her mask slip as to just which lives are precious and which are to be cast aside. In a twist on George Orwell's Animal Farm:

"All life is precious, but some is more precious than others"

How can I say that?

Well in today's Belfast Telegraph she is reported as saying:

"Pregnant women seeking to terminate their pregnancy because they are suicidal should be institutionalised until the baby is born."

In other words, she is seeking to section pregnant woman who for whatever reason feel suicidal during their pregnancy, until they give birth. Mental health professionals will tell you that there is a need to deal with the causes of those suicidal thoughts. The issue arises here in Northern Ireland that an abortion is only allowed to be carried out if the continuation of the pregnancy affects the mother's health either physically or mentally.

Mrs Smyth also talked of a recent case in the Republic where an asylum seeker was denied an abortion after she was raped. She said:

"The right decision was made in this case not to abort the baby. She'll never regret giving birth to her baby, but she would have regretted an abortion."

She had to go through 27 weeks of bearing a reminder of the horrific time she was forcibly  used for sex. Was that regret, the mental anguish of that moment not of consideration? Mrs Smyth has three children, none of whom was conceived through rape, so she cannot understand what levels of regret a woman in that position must be feeling. In fact similar sentiments were expressed in recent years by Jim Wells MLA who is a member of the NI Assembly's All Party Pro-Life Group, who like Mrs Smyth has never had any of his children conceived through rape, but unlike her he has never personally gone through pregnancy, labour and delivery of his children.

The chair of the NI All Party Pro-Life Group despite never being elected to any legislature in Northern Ireland is a Mrs Bernadette Smyth. Yes the 10 male MLAs who form that Group have given the control to an unelected spokesperson from a lobbying group. Kind of surprising that the men who seek to take control of every Northern Irish woman's reproductive rights should give up control of their own group to an outsider and a woman at that. But when you give that right over to the director of the biggest lobby group on one side of the debate on the issue there must surely be a conflict on interests there which in any other part of the UK would be called in question and investigated thoroughly. 

Precious Life is prepared to section women, something that would appear on their medical records and may affect their livelihoods for years to come to protect the life of the unborn child. It should how precious they consider the lives of women who for whatever reason whether rape, poor financial or educational situation find themselves pregnant and suicidal as a result of not knowing what to do or how to cope with going to the point of giving birth to a living child.

But for Mrs Smyth and her Precious Life supporters

"Unborn life is precious, but the life of rape victims and suicidal women are less so."

Northern Ireland gay couple find a way to adopt

Edwin Poots, the Northern Irish Health Minister, must think of King Canute as something of a personal hero. There he is going through every layer of court that the land and Europe has to offer to try and stem the tide of change on whatever issue of LGBT equality he is trying to stop.

Well there is a little chink in his armour, a small wave has beaten through his defenses and there is a gay couple in Northern Ireland who have adopted two little boys. Their social worker helped them out, saying that while they wanted to adopt from within Northern Ireland that path was one that was closed to them, but there was other options. What they did was to go to England and adopt two boys from there which they did at the start of the summer and who have started primary school last month.

However, this does not deal with the hardship of the many children in Northern Ireland who are still looking for a family to adopt them. Nor does this route help those children of one partner in a same-sex relationship be adopted by the other spouse.

The irony as ever in Northern Ireland is that those who speak out loudest against same-sex couples adopting are also those who speak loudly against abortion. Therefore they are wanting to create a case of more unwanted children while at the same time not allowing some people who want those children the ability to adopt them. While both abortion and same-sex adoption are not allowed in Northern Ireland there are two ways hardship can hit children here in Northern Ireland. They can be unwanted when they are born, and find that those who want themThose who claim to speak up for the rights of the child should really look at what is best for the child who they so desperately want to keep alive.

International Women's Day doesn't stretch to Northern Ireland

Friday may have be International Women's Day but tomorrow in the Northern Ireland Assembly it is likely to be anything but.

At the last minute the DUP and SDLP have added an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill.

Amendment 1
New Clause
After clause 11 insert -

‘Ending the life of an unborn child

Ending the life of an unborn child

11A.-(1) Without prejudice to section 58 and section 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 and subject to subsection (2) any person who ends the life of an unborn child at any stage of that child’s development shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a period of not more than ten years’ imprisonment and a fine.

(2) It shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence under this section to show-

(a) that the act or acts ending the life of an unborn child were lawfully performed at premises operated by a Health and Social Care Trust, or

(b) that the act or acts ending the life of the unborn child were lawfully performed without fee or reward in circumstances of urgency when access to premises operated by a Health and Social Care Trust was not possible.

(3) For the purposes of this section a person ends the life of an unborn child if that person does any act, or causes or permits any act, with the intention of bringing about the end of the life of an unborn child, and, by reason of any such act, the life of that unborn child is ended.

(4) For the purposes of this section ‘lawfully’ in subsection (2) means in accordance with any defence or exception under section 58 and section 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945.’

The reason for this amendment if because for the first time last year a private abortion clinic was set up.Marie Stopes say that they are acting within the very strict Northern Ireland rules on terminations. But of course they operate outside the remit of the Northern Ireland Health Minister, who happens to be a male DUP MLA.

On Sunday Nicky Campbell's: Big Question came from Derry and the first issue was abortion. I heard one of the first contributors say that there was no demand or need for abortion on demand in Northern Ireland. However, there are 1000s of women from the island of Ireland who every year travel to England, Scotland or Wales to seek help with termination. But also there is an open letter that was published today, which over 100 women in Northern Ireland have been brave enough to sign.

We, the undersigned, have either taken the abortion pill or helped women to procure the abortion pill in order to cause an abortion here in Northern Ireland.  We represent just a small fraction of those who have used, or helped others to use, this method because it is almost impossible to get an NHS abortion here, even when there is likely to be a legal entitlement to one.  We know that Stormont Ministers and the Public Prosecution Service are aware that such abortions have been taking place in the region for some years, but are unwilling to prosecute for a range of reasons, at least partly to do with not wanting an open debate around the issue of when women here should have a right to abortion.

We are publishing this letter now because of the Givan/Magennis amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill which we believe is aimed at closing down the debate on abortion here, as much as it is about closing down Marie Stopes.  We want to emphasise that medical abortions happen in Northern Ireland on a daily basis but without any medical support or supervision. We were delighted when Marie Stopes came to Belfast as it meant that women who are unwell, and therefore eligible for a legal abortion, can access a doctor to supervise what we have done or helped others to do without medical help.

 

We live in the only part of the UK that still does not have a childcare strategy. We face huge cuts in children’s living standards if the Assembly passes the Welfare Reform Bill without major amendment. If our politicians showed as much zeal in protecting the lives of children who are already born, perhaps we would have fewer women seeking abortion because of poverty.

This is over something as small to those in the rest of the UK as taking an abortion pill. Something that women in the rest of the UK have the right to choose to do. But Northern Ireland never enacted the 1967 Abortion Act. Back street abortions still take place there, others scrap together the money they need to head over the water to get the help that those in England, Scotland and Wales take for granted up to the 24th week. In Northern Ireland it is only up to 7 weeks and only in the case of a medical necessity either for the baby or the mother's well being.



Tomorrow the Alliance and Green parties will be joined opposing this amendment by Sinn Féin, who say they are "not in favour of abortion" but believe that termination should be available where a pregnant woman's life was in danger. This amendment seems to take things back even further than that, which can happen with knee jerk reactionary bids to stop something just for the sake of it.

Nobody should be enslaved by ignorance or poverty is part of the Lib Dems very being and that is what this amendment is going to do. Enslave Northern Irish women not only in ignorance and poverty but also in fear.

It is time that the MLAs cared more about the lives of those born. Even if that means allowing same sex couples in stable relationships to adopt, like single LGBT people can (due to another badly thought out amendment). Instead they hastily work to try and protect the status quo when there is a need and desire for change in a growing number.

There are of course some who believe that "Every Sperm is Sacred" and that the progress of such along the fallopian tube is an hindrance to is an intention to bring about the end of the life of an unborn child. So while this rather badly worded amendment is debated will anyone question Boots, Tesco et al stocking condoms, or them being given out free at gay venues as a way that becomes illegal under said amendment.

In the meantime, here is a preview of the points made in tomorrow's debate from the DUP side of the chamber.

The mixed up world for Northern Irish foetuses

Here is the world facing the unborn in Northern Ireland in one day....today.

The Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast opened, offering abortion under the tighter that the rest of the UK regulations on who qualifies, to protests (pictured).

The High Court rules that same-sex couples being banned from adopting in Northern Ireland is unlawful.

Despite there being insufficient suitable placements for those currently looking to be adopted the health minister has said that he will challenge that ruling.

Now I suspect that many of those protesting and insisting that the women who wish to abort in Northern Ireland go full term (as well as the over 1000 a year who do not meet the regulations and go elsewhere) would probably support the Health Minister in his challenge. It is the sort of argument that the religiosity of the Pro-Lifers in Northern Ireland would stretch to. So yeah that is the mixed up world an unborn child may face here in Northern Ireland.

The choice a women faces is abide by the 9 weeks gestation rule and only if health physical or mental to the mother is as risk and abort, go elsewhere in the UK, go full term and give up for adoption in an under subscribed field with many not getting adopted. So if the women protested for Pro-Life really want the best for every unborn child have they really thought through all the consequences.

I suspect they haven't, but I also suspect that each women who finds herself pregnant that exercises her own choice without prejudice or judgement from others has considered all the options very carefully based on the reality of their own situation.

Update: No sooner had I posted this than I noticed that BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport was looking at today's events along similar lines.

Update 2: BBC report on the adoption story

Who is ultimate victim of rape?

There has been a lot of talk about rape in the past week. Whether it be about Julian Assange or Todd Akin, but we've had another case right here in Northern Ireland.

When I was working for the Yes! campaign in Northern Ireland I had to walk past The Family Planning Association on the way to get my lunch. Quite often there were pickets outside. Because unlike anywhere else in the UK abortion is still illegal in Northern Ireland.

It does not of course prevent Northern Irish women seeking abortions, indeed over 1000 traveled to seek one last year alone, they merely have the additional trauma have having to travel to England, Scotland or Wales. But today their anguish wasn't helped by the next Health Minster the DUP MLA Jim Wells.

Speaking on the Nolan Show he said that the ultimate victim of rape is the unborn child. Adding:

"Should he or she be punished for what has happened by having their life terminated? No.

"In Northern Ireland, there are hundreds of married couples who would love to adopt children - a child, a baby - and who could give support in that situation."

Now there isn't just one victim of any rape. Indeed in the last year in Northern Ireland there were 525 cases reported. This figure is actually higher than the number reported in the Republic of Ireland which has three times the population!

So what about the mental well being of all those 525 victims?

Not all of those 525 will want to face a nine month reminder of the horrid crime carried out against their person. Suffering through morning sickness, the back pain, the increase in girth (not to mention having to buy maternity clothes). That is to say nothing of the additional mental anguish both during and after pregnancy of having gone through being forced to carry the child full term.

Who is the ultimate victim of Northern Ireland not allowing abortion, even in such conditions?

Of course to get across to England, Scotland or Wales, these women are using savings theirs or their families, digging into pension funds or going to loan sharks to afford the additional expense of getting a ferry or flight and accommodation to cover them meeting with the two doctors, both strangers to the woman, to get the approval to abort.

Now of course earlier this week i pointed out that the DUP used biblical verses to attack gay marriage. Someone even tried to tell me that while the civil and ceremonial laws were outlawed the moral ones were to be upheld. Therefore I'm not quite sure why Jim Wells wasn't quoting the following biblical verses to defend his position, the DUP after all have cleared their members to do so.

If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father.  Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her. 

Deut 22: 28-29 New Living Translation

  If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife.

Deut 22: 23-24 NLT 

So why stop at merely letting the women who has suffered at the hands of the rapist go full term and give the child up for adoption, surely the DUP should be marrying her off as this is a tradition form of biblical marriage? One goes on to wonder how any DUP politician would deal with a daughter who found herself pregnant as the victim of rape?

But of course they realise how ridiculous it is to call for that. So instead they merely add to the trauma of removing something that is causing the victim, and let us not forget the woman is a victim of a crime, undo anguish. Any other crime once the police come and take pictures of the evidence the results can be cleared away and people get on with their life, but for rape the DUP are prepared to let women live with the results, that have crashed into their lives unwarranted, for nine months.


Earlier today I did post this from the Huffington Post about how the pro-lifers are so much only looking at the rarer commodity for human reproduction. Of course going again the biblical precedent Onanism as masturbation is also called was because Onon in Genesis 38 while having sex with his dead brother's wife pulled out during sex and prevented her giving her dead husband the heir that was required from his younger brother's seed. God himself put him to death.

1st Amendment Censorship, Texas Abortion Law and Doonesbury Day 4

Today Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip gets even more cutting on the issue of Texas Abortion Law.

To be fair the use if the word rape is inaccurate. As rape has to be the penetration without consent of a penis. However, the emotion scarring may well be the same. The fact that the largely Male republicans in Texas were the ones who passed this law means that the emotional consequences of such an intrusion have probably not been given the weight they deserve.

If you are not getting you're regularly scheduled Doonesbury in your paper in the USA. I hope you enjoy.

1st Amendment Censorship, Texas Abortion Law and Doonesbury Day 3

Day 3 of Garry Trudeau's take on the Texas Abortion Law strip for Doonesbury brings in the name of Texas Governor and former GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Perry who signed the law into being.

The doctor is reading the prescribed words regarding abortion as obviously he cannot be trusted to aim the words at the recipient as he would be discussing cancer or HIV with a recently diagnosed patient.

© 2012 Garry Trudeau , Universal Press Syndicate 

1st Amendment Censorship, Texas Abortion Law and Doonesbury Day 2

Garry Trudeau carries on with is Doonesbury strip looking at the Texas Abortion Law.

Today it features a legislator called Sid Patrick an amalgam of Sid Miller Texas Representative and state Senator Dan Patrick.

Miller when talking about cuts to Planned Parenthood clinics last year said, women who lose their family planning provider can find services elsewhere at "faith, community-based pregnancy care centers". Of course these locations unlike Planned Parenthood don't provide any type of medical care, no cancer screenings, STD Tests, Pap smears or oral contraception.

The 'slut' part of the cartoon refers to the comments that Rush Limbaugh made recently on his right-wing radio show at a student who testified before a congressional committee about the increasing cost of birth control. He referred to her, as she said she had to ask partners to help pay for the cost of this as a 'slut' and an 'prostitute'.

Anyway as I promised this week, I'll be running the Donnesbury strip so here is today's.

© 2012 Garry Trudeau , Universal Press Syndicate 

1st Amendment Censorship, Texas Abortion Law and Doonesbury Day 1

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

I've watched this weekend anxiously my own political party have a heated debate on a key issue of health reform. Each side was allowed to put its case. 


Listening as I often do, through the wonders of the internet, to American radio and TV, or reading their press I know that sometimes that debate is stiffled. Pro-Choice and Pro-Gay messaging is often knocked down, without any balance of the argument from the other side. This from a country that loves to talk up the freedoms granted to their citizens by their bill of rights, which includes the 4th Amendment above.


You see there is a freedom of speech and the press. Yet this week certain parts of the press are using their freedom to stifle one of their syndicated cartoon writers freedom of speech via their publications. Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip holds the mirror up to the bi-polar nature of American political thought. Where, you are either for or against something it seems, you cannot see good points of something while objecting to it overall. 


This week, the target of the cartoon in the Texas State Abortion Law which now requires women seeking an abortion to visit the abortion clinic twice! The first is 24 hours before the abortion can be carried out is so that a sonogram can be taken of the fetus. The mother can opt out of seeing the images and hearing the heaertbeat, but must listen to the description of the sonogram. There is also at this first visit be advise as to the risks, alternatives etc. before the mother is sent home to sleep on the matter. 


It forces the mother who probably already has taken sometime thinking about the decision to even attend for an abortion, to spend another night having been introduced to the fetus and given all the information that she wants. Both the added time penalty and this wait between the actions on day one and the termination are seen as adding emotional strain to women who are already going through all sorts of turmoil. 


However, the cartoon which tries to point out the turmoil from the women's perspective has been pulled from it's syndication slot in some papers, or moved from the family to editorial section of others. The reason supporters of this Law give for it is that it serves educational and awareness purposes. I would argue that pulling the Doonesbury cartoon removes the education and awareness from the women's perspective to a lot of America.


If you are reading this and can't find this week's Doonesbury in your paper you will probably be able to find it online at their website. But as a counter to those who want to censor freedom of speech I'll be displaying this week's strips.

© 2012 Garry Trudeau , Universal Press Syndicate

I'm Back in the Golden Dozen

I don't often make Lib Dem Voice's Weekly Golden Dozen, probably because most of my readership aren't Lib Dems and rarely click through from the Lib Dem blogs aggregator. so therefore I have to rely on well written pieces that get picked up for the 5 positions not gained through through traffic.

Well my little piece on the DUP, 42 days detention without trail and the abortion amendments for Northern Ireland being pole axed last week makes the cut this week. Makes this Northern Irish born liberal proud.

Has 42 Days Extended 40 Years Without Abortion?

Remember back in June when the DUP backed Labour in able for the flailing government to secure 42 day detention without trail in the commons? Remember the DUP denying that there were any deals done over upcoming legislation? This despite historically the DUP being a defender of civil liberties in the area of detention without trial even in the tough times of the 70s and 80s.

When just what are we to make of the decision of Labour to totally shelf the amendment to the human fertilisation and embryology bill scheduled for today which was to relook at Northern Ireland's exemption from the bill. All the abortion amendments including the need for two doctors approval have been slipped to the end, with no time to debate them. A recent survey showing 62% of people in Northern Ireland being in favour of allowing abortion as a choice to be taken up locally. Despite this Labour have put off the chance to discuss it for how long? Another 40 years maybe? Many protested both for and against the idea on Saturday so it is a debate that Northern Ireland wants, no needs to have.

Northern Irish politician's claimed that they should have a say in such legislation at the assembly. But if they are given the option will they listen to the majority of the people on this? Or will they listen to the vocal minority? who sadly make up the core vote of most of the main parties.

Just what role did the 42 day vote have in making Harriet Harman basically dump these amendments en masse?

40 Women a Week

This is a pre-recorded posting, because I am actually be out and about in Glenrothes somewhere.

Right about now a symbolic 40 women will be wearing a t-shirt bearing the image to the left in a protest outside City Hall in Belfast. The reason for 40 is that is the number of women who currently wish to seek an abortion in Northern Ireland but have to travel to the mainland to do so.

They are protesting to have the law in Northern Ireland changed to bring it into line with the rest of the UK.

Let me lay a few things out straight. Should I personally, as I have in the past, face the question of a possibility that I may have fathered a child I would do all I could to make the choice that that child survives easier to be made. However, I know not everyone and every situation is going to look at the situation that way. Personally I would see myself as pro-life but I respect every woman's right to choose. It is all about choice and that i wholeheartedly support.

Being of a liberal mindset sometimes mean that you have to allow room to manoeuvre for a mind set that is not naturally you own. Which is why I hate the fact that so many from both sides what to make this situation so black and white when it is actually very grey. There should really be three camps, pro-choice, pro-life and somewhere in between where people are personally of one or the other persuasion but respect the right of the other camp to hold their views. In an ideal world that third camp would be full and the others empty, and doctors wouldn't be threatened and family planning clinics wouldn't be picketed and (often) young, scared mothers wouldn't be terrified of taking whatever action they wanted.

There is a petition to sign to support the law in Northern Ireland catching up with the 1967 Great Britain legislation. If you haven't already may I please ask that you consider signing it.