TcMedicine

Irish Court Rules That Girl Can Travel Abroad To Undergo Abortion

The Dublin High Court on Wednesday ruled that a 17-year-old girl who is 18 weeks’ pregnant with a fetus that would not live more than three days after delivery could travel to the United Kingdom to undergo an abortion, the Irish Times reports (Carolan/O’Brien, Irish Times, 5/10). According to the AP/Guardian, physicians last month found that the fetus of the girl, identified as “Miss D,” has a rare condition known as anencephaly, in which it would be born without a part of its skull and would die soon after birth. After learning of the abnormality, Miss D sought an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Ireland except to save the life of the woman, but voters in 1992 amended the Irish constitution to make it legal for women to receive information about foreign abortion services and to travel to England to undergo an abortion, where the procedure has been legal since 1967. About 7,000 Irish women annually travel to England to receive an abortion, the AP/Guardian reports (Pogatchnik, AP/Guardian, 5/9).
The Irish Health Service Executive had told Miss D that she could not travel to have an abortion without its consent and that it could restrain her using force, if necessary (Irish Times, 5/10). Justice Liam McKechnie ruled that there is no law preventing Miss D from leaving the country to receive an abortion. McKechnie added that the case is not about abortion or the fetus’ right to live but about Miss D’s right to travel (McKittrick, Independent, 5/10). The HSE will be required to pay Miss D’s legal fees, which are estimated to be 1 million euros, or about $1.3 million.

Reaction
The HSE on Wednesday accepted the ruling but said it took what it believed to be the correct course of action. An HSE spokesperson said the agency “regrets any distress arising for Miss D and her family. The matters at issue were not straightforward or simple in ascertaining this girl’s best interests.” The agency “will continue to offer Miss D all the care and support which it is in a position to make available,” the spokesperson said. According to the Times, the agency has not ruled out an appeal of part of the ruling.
Abortion-rights supporters and opponents both demonstrated outside the court on Wednesday. According to the Times, the Irish Family Planning Association and the Alliance for Choice both supported the decision (Irish Times, 5/10). The IFPA said it was unacceptable that there is no legal framework on abortion in the country. The antiabortion group Pro-Life Campaign said the controversy surrounding the case is a sign that people in Ireland “recognize the importance of discussing [abortion] openly,” adding that the case also highlighted a need to put into place a support system “so that no woman feels abortion is the only option open to her” (Independent, 5/10).

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