Restricted access to abortion in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland: exploring abortion tourism and barriers to legal reform

Abstract

Access to abortion remains a controversial issue worldwide. In Ireland, both north and south, legal restrictions have resulted in thousands of women travelling to England and Wales and further afield to obtain abortions in the last decade alone, while others purchase the ‘abortion pill’ from Internet sources. This paper considers the socio-legal context in both jurisdictions, the data on those travelling to access abortion and the barriers to legal reform. It argues that moral conservatism in Ireland, north and south, has contributed to the restricted access to abortion, impacting on the experience of thousands of women, resulting in these individuals becoming ‘abortion tourists’.

El acceso al aborto sigue siendo un tema controvertido en todo el mundo. Debido a las restricciones legales existentes en Irlanda del Norte e Irlanda del Sur, durante la última década miles de mujeres han tenido que viajar a Inglaterra, a Gales o a destinos más lejanos para realizarse un aborto. Otras mujeres lo resuelven adquiriendo la “píldora abortiva” a través de fuentes en internet. El presente artículo examina el contexto sociolegal que prevalece en ambas jurisdicciones, los datos respecto a las que viajan para realizarse un aborto y las barreras que impiden el logro de reformas legales. Las autoras sostienen que el conservadurismo moral existente en ambas jurisdicciones ha contribuido a restringir el acceso al aborto, determinando que miles de mujeres se conviertan en “turistas del aborto”.

L'accès à l'avortement reste une question controversée à travers le monde. Au Nord et au Sud de l'Irlande, les contraintes juridiques ont eu pour conséquence le départ de milliers de femmes vers l'Angleterre, le Pays de Galles et plus loin encore, pour accéder à l'avortement, ceci au cours des dix seules dernières années; ou pour d'autres femmes, l'achat, via Internet, de la « pilule abortive ». Cet article décrit le contexte socio-juridique des deux juridictions, les données sur les femmes qui voyagent pour accéder à l'avortement et les obstacles à une réforme juridique. Il soutient que le conservatisme moral en Irlande – au Nord comme au Sud – contribue à l'accès restreint à l'avortement et a un impact sur le comportement des milliers de femmes en les transformant en « touristes de l'avortement ».

Keywords::

• abortion
• abortion tourism
• moral conservatism
• Ireland

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Julia S. O'Connor of the University of Ulster and the anonymous peer reviewers for their insightful comments.

Notes

^1. In 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that a 14-year-old girl, known as X, pregnant as a result of rape, faced a real and substantial risk to her life due to threat of suicide and this threat could only be averted by the termination of her pregnancy (Bacik 2013).

^2. Three cases (ABC) were brought before the European Court of Human Rights and it was argued that their human rights had been violated due to Ireland's restrictive abortion laws. The court found in favour of one applicant, C, on the grounds that her right to privacy in seeking information on whether she qualified for a legal abortion had been violated (Bacik 2013).