On 14 February 2014, the Irish Politics Group joined with the University of Ulster Institute for Research in the Social Sciences to organise and host a very successful event on abortion policy, regionally and internationally. The event was organised by Dr Fiona Bloomer and Claire Pierson, and a range of academics, policy makers, practitioners, activists and post-graduate students came together for a unique day of knowledge exchange on the abortion issue.
Marge Berer, the founding editor of Reproductive Health Matters journal and part of the coordination team of the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion began the session with an overview of abortion law internationally. Marge pointed out that one in three women worldwide has had an abortion and making the procedure safe is a rights based and global health policy issue. Crucially, the more grounds under legislation permitting legal abortions, the safer women will be. Dr Fiona Bloomer continued by framing the issue from the Northern Ireland context, highlighting that misinformation and a lack of guidance for health professionals continues to dominate the discussion in the region.
The next session concentrated on comparisons of Northern Ireland regionally and internationally. Dr Jennifer Hamilton (University of Ulster) and Emilie Weiderud presented the differing situations in Sweden and Northern Ireland, focussing on the social and political contexts in these regions which contextualise the availability of abortion. Mara Clarke, Director of the Abortion Support Network provided personal experience of what happens to women when abortion is restricted. Mara has worked in the US and UK hosting women who cannot afford or who have to travel for abortions. Mara focussed on the most marginalised women who have to take extreme measures to pay for abortion procedures. Goretti Horgan (University of Ulster) contrasted the positions in the north and south of Ireland, arguing that there is a more advanced debate in the south than in the north and that the Irish state may be considered to facilitate abortion as long as it occurs outside its jurisdiction.
After lunch, Emma Campbell, who is completing her PhD in photography at the University of Ulster, showed her doctoral work exploring the journeys of women travelling from Northern Ireland to England for abortions. In the final session, the situation for women in Northern Ireland in contrast with Britain was considered. Audrey Simpson, Director of the Family Planning Association in Northern Ireland explained the UK’s duties as a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The Committee have recommended that the UK government consider amending abortion law in Northern Ireland yet action has never been taken. Jennifer Thomson (University of London) detailed the background to the 1967 Abortion Act, pointing out that Northern Ireland was barely discussed at the time except to argue it as a ‘peculiar case’. Abortion law reform has also been used by Northern Irish politicians as a bargaining tool, in one case it was described as possibly destabilising the peace process.
To conclude, Kellie O’Dowd, a founding member of the Alliance for Choice Network in Northern Ireland considered how we further the debate on abortion. Discussing and normalising the conversation on abortion is crucial without exploiting the women who choose to have abortions. Kellie highlighted that the debate needs to be reframed in terms of ‘safety’ rather than ‘morality’ and that space for discussion needs to be opened in the arena of sexual health education.
Throughout the day there was a lively discussion with participants who also tweeted the debate: http://storify.com/DrBloomer/comparing-our-choices-international-and-regional-p. After positive feedback from participants we have made speakers presentations available. For further information about the event please contact Dr Fiona Bloomer [email protected] [email protected] or Claire Pierson [email protected].
