Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • The Center’s Impact
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Corporate Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Global Advocacy
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Stories
    • Events
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Press Releases
    • Statements
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • U.S. Abortion Rights: Resources
    • Maps
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
    • Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Make a Donor Advised Fund Gift
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • Donate Gifts of Stock
    • Give a Gift in Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Employee Matching Gifts
    • Mail a Check
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal

Ending the Shame

Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • The Center’s Impact
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Corporate Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Global Advocacy
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Stories
    • Events
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Press Releases
    • Statements
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • U.S. Abortion Rights: Resources
    • Maps
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
    • Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Make a Donor Advised Fund Gift
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • Donate Gifts of Stock
    • Give a Gift in Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Employee Matching Gifts
    • Mail a Check
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion, Legal Protections, Legal Restrictions

Regions:

Europe, Ireland

Work:

In the Courts, At the United Nations

Type:

News, Story

Case Archive

For updates on Center cases, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

11.19.2013

In the Courts Abortion Europe News

Ending the Shame

Justin Goldberg

Share

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id

No great leaps in medical technology will ever alter the reality that a certain percentage of pregnancies fail for natural, unavoidable reasons. What can, and what in fact must, change is the care women receive in some corners of the world when such events unfold. Indeed, there are countries where women who learn that their pregnancies are doomed are denied care altogether.



On November 13, the Center for Reproductive Rights took a bold new step in what will be a sustained effort to effect change in Ireland when it filed the first of three cases before the United Nations Human Rights Committee targeting the country’s restrictive abortion law. The country’s law has created a callous health care environment that offers women nothing but shame and cruelty at a time when they need the best medical care possible.



Amanda Mellet and James Burke were “over the moon” when they found out, in 2011, that they would become parents. Those feelings crumbled when they went for an ultrasound at 21 weeks. The fetus suffered from chromosomal abnormalities and had no chance of survival. Their initial joy turned into their greatest nightmare.



What happened next has happened to many other Irish women and their families. Amanda told doctors that she couldn’t bear carrying the hopeless pregnancy to term, and the doctors informed her she would have to “travel”—a euphemism for abortion services abroad. She got no referral and no information from her doctors, but was left on her own to figure out the best way to address her medical condition only days after receiving the most devastating news of her life. Amanda had effectively been kicked out of the Irish health care system.



She and her husband had to find a health care facility that would give her the care she needed. Then they had to string together money to travel to Liverpool, England, spending several days there away from their support system of family and friends.



“It is absolutely clear from the law that women like Amanda do not have a right to pregnancy termination in Ireland,” says Johanna Westeson, the Center’s Regional Director for Europe.  They effectively have to venture abroad to get the minimum of dignified treatment. In fact, everything related to abortion in Ireland is poisoned with stigma and shame. Any woman considering an abortion, regardless of her circumstances, is received with suspicion by the health care system—to the extent that the word “abortion” has become so charged that health professionals use euphemisms rather than spell it out.



The only way a woman can get an abortion in Ireland is if she’s in danger of dying—and even that exception isn’t always respected. Given the stigma surrounding abortion in Ireland, health professionals are often too scared or too ignorant to provide abortions even when women have a legal right to access them. But the even more serious problem is the law itself. It is so extremely narrow that it leads to drastic violations of women’s human rights. Women are left without information and without support. In Ireland, the Center’s aim is nothing less than abortion law reform.



Amanda’s is the first of three cases we expect to bring to the UN to challenge Ireland’s reproductive health laws. “We have a very good likelihood of success, even though there’s not really a precedent,” says Johanna. “The Human Rights Committee has said before that Ireland needs to bring its abortion law in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, in an individual case the committee has never previously ruled that abortion law reform is necessary. We hope that these cases will serve as a great precedent not only for Ireland, but also for other countries in the world with restrictive laws.”



Also working in our favor are Ireland’s aspirations. “Ireland is really keen to be seen as a country that supports human rights,” says Johanna. In its foreign relations, Ireland is known to push for women’s rights, including reproductive rights for women in the developing world. But within the country, standards appear to be very different.



The impact of Ireland’s law touches so many aspects of women and their family’s lives. Abandoned by their country during a time of emergency, they are made to feel ashamed for asserting the fundamental right to reproductive health care. They are forced to go to a foreign city at a great cost. In Amanda’s case—and likely most women’s—she had almost no time to recover from a difficult medical procedure before she needed to get on a flight home, exposing her to physical health risks in addition to the psychological trauma she was already suffering.



Most devastating, perhaps, are the mental health consequences. “I could not believe…that we would have to travel to England like criminals to end the pregnancy,” wrote Amanda in her affidavit. Amanda still suffers from the trauma the Irish abortion ban exposed her to. In the end, it was her life’s worst crisis, and she cannot bear the thought of other women and couples routinely being subjected to the same treatment. She is committed to continue to speak up about what she experienced until the law has changed.



The fact that Irish women are denied these kinds of services is reprehensible. The time for real change in this country is long overdue. If Ireland wants to be known for its human rights, its leaders are going to have to prove it.


Related Posts

Decision: Amanda Mellet v. Ireland

Abortion, Legal Restrictions,Europe, Ireland,In the Courts, At the United Nations

Tysiac v. Poland: CRR Amicus Brief

Introduction1. The Center for Reproductive Rights submits these written comments pursuant to leave granted by the President of the Chamber...

Abortion,Europe, Poland, Accountability Bodies, European Human Rights System,In the Courts, Around the World

Center Submission regarding Constitutionality of Croatia’s Act on Health Measures for the Realization of the Right to Freely Decide on the Childbirth

Abortion, Legal Protections, Legal Restrictions, HIV/AIDS, Discriminatory Policies,Europe, Croatia,At the United Nations, Reporting on Rights

Sign up for email updates.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Gift Acceptance Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2024)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Better Business Bureau Charity Watch Top Rated Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up