This is the text of Ann Rossiter’s speech on the Reproductive Health panel at Feminism in London 2010.
‘An Irish Solution to an Irish Problem’: the Export of Irish Abortions to Britain
The law on abortion in Ireland, North and South, is based on the same piece of Victorian legislation – the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. That dates from the time when the island of Ireland was an integral part of the United Kingdom. The 1861 Act criminalised abortion, the punishment being life imprisonment.
Unlike in England, Scotland and Wales, the 1967 Abortion Act was never instated in Northern Ireland despite it being part of the UK. In consequence, approximately 1,500 women travel to abortion clinics in London, Liverpool and Manchester each year to obtain a termination in a private clinic, something which is available to their sisters in the rest of the UK for free under the NHS.
In the South (the Republic, the Irish Free State, independent since 1922), the 1861 Act was deemed not sufficiently restrictive and in 1983 the state’s Constitution was amended to make the right to life of ‘the unborn’ equal to that of ‘the mother’ following a coup by There is no right to abortion in any circumstance except where the mother’s life is in danger; even where a woman or girl has been raped or abused. In consequence, every year at least 5,000 women must travel to Liverpool/London/Manchester and, increasingly, further afield to Amsterdam and Brussels where costs are much less, and pay for a private abortion in a clinic.
Ireland, North and South, along with Malta and Poland, are the only states where women’s reproductive rights are denied.
These are the bare facts.
How is it down on the ground? – 1 -
There are agencies like the Family Planning Associations, North and South of the border, as well as the Well Woman Centre and Marie Stopes International in Dublin, who provide abortion counselling services, although referrals are prohibited by law in the South. Even if abortion seekers do get to avail of information and counselling, their journey is invariably conducted in secret and under considerable mental, physical and financial strain. Increasingly, non-Irish abortion seekers are to be found amongst Ireland’s ‘hidden diaspora’. The plight of those without papers – asylum seekers – is made even more appalling, as permission to travel is not only extremely difficult to obtain from the authorities, but also a time consuming process on an occasion when ‘time is of the essence’ so to speak.
Even for Irish citizens, the covert nature of their journey to England is a heavy burden to bear. This is because of the stigma attached to abortion, the fear of being ‘found out’ by friends, family, workmates, school fellows, etc., and sometimes by the unfounded fear that they can be prosecuted for having a termination in another jurisdiction.
To help ease this burden the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group (IWASG) was set up in London in 1980. Also, in the 1980s a group called LASS (Liverpool Abortion Services), subsequently known as Escort, was formed. I was a member of IWASG, an entirely non-funded voluntary group. The nuts and bolts of our work involved providing information on accessing an abortion, especially during the period 1987-1995 when the Southern government placed a total ban on information and referral; providing accommodation, especially in the days when women were required to stay overnight at a clinic; escorting women from points of arrival in London – airports, train and bus stations – , accompanying them to clinic visits; providing a sympathetic ear, and crucially, helping with the financial costs of travel and the termination itself. This service was also offered to Spanish women by the Spanish Women’s Abortion Support Group (SWASG) which worked in tandem with IWASG.
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The costs of travel and of the termination were, as they are now, astronomically high.
For the majority of women of whatever age and class, getting one’s hands on between £500 and £1,500 at very short notice is a huge challenge. Imagine what’s it’s like for a teenager! Can she ask her parents? Can she ask her friends? Can her partner come up with the goods? Is she forced to go to a loan shark if she can’t get credit through the usual channels? If she is a single parent and financially straitened, how can she explain to her mother or sister that she needs them to babysit while she is in London on what she says is a shopping trip – or some such outlandish excuse! We have had cases of women turning up at our doorsteps with a baby in a buggy, and also for good measure, with a toddler.
The work of IWASG
Needless to say, fund-raising was a major part of our work. We did sponsored swims, sponsored walks, sponsored weight loss, and sponsored anything else we could think of. We ran ceilis (traditional Irish dances), all sorts of gigs, including puppet shows, concerts, discos, bingo sessions, knees-up of all kinds. We worked for the Workers’ Beer Co (set up in 1985 by Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Council as a fundraising arm of the labour and trade union movement). We served beer in the Beer Co’s tents at music and political gigs all the over the country, including Glastonbury, the Reading and Leeds pop festivals and the Fleadh (the Irish festival held in Finsbury Park). Our wages were donated to IWASG.
Cross-border Co-operation
In Irish women’s search for a termination not only did the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group provide help and support, but also a myriad of organisations, women’s groups and individuals, in different parts of England, Scotland and Wales. I’ve already mentioned some – the Spanish Women’s Abortion Support Group, the providers like Marie Stopes International, the Workers’s Beer Company. Also to be included are providers such as Bpas (the British Pregnancy Advisory Service), Voice for Choice, the National Abortion Campaign (now Abortion Choice), Release, the drug-users support agency, Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights Information Centre, Women’s Health, etc. etc. etc. Without them only a fraction of the work of IWASG could have been achieved. – 3 -
The work of IWASG was phased out towards the end of the 1990s as cheap flights, increasing access to credit and the removal of the over-night stay requirement meant that Irish women could come to a clinic and go home on the same day.
However, with the bottom having fallen out of the Irish economies north and south of the border and the limits being placed on access to credit, abortion seekers are once again looking for help and support.
The baton has been picked up by the Abortion Support Network which has been in existence for almost a year now and is doing sterling work. Leaflets are available giving details of ASN. They are currently seeking help with fundraising and for London-based volunteer hosts. Please have a look at the work they do.
For anyone wishing to read in more detail the work of IWASG and the Irish Women’s Abortion Solidarity Campaign (Iasc) I compiled an oral history of the two groups and published it a year ago. The title is Ireland’s Hidden Diaspora: the ‘abortion trail’ and the making of a London-Irish underground, 1980-2000 (on sale at a modest price in the foyer). Please take a leaflet which also gives details of ‘Making a Holy Show of Myself: an Abortion Monologue’ which is a performance piece I’ve written and perform to help break the silence surrounding the whole issue of abortion in Ireland.
Ann Rossiter, 23 October 2010