Ireland – Abortion laws ‘must not leave doctors in fear of prosecution’

Abortion laws ‘must not leave doctors in fear of prosecution’

Jennifer Bray, Ireland Deputy Political Editor
August 24 2018

The government has been urged to improve its draft legislation on abortion to stop doctors interpreting the new laws too conservatively.

A position paper by experts from Dublin City University, the University of Birmingham and Queen Mary University of London said that the government should consider asking doctors who have a conscientious objection to providing abortion care to declare it before the law comes into effect. Clinical guidelines that are due to be introduced alongside the legislation should clarify when and how a doctor who holds a conscientious objection should disclose it, it says.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abortion-laws-must-not-leave-doctors-in-fear-of-prosecution-wpwvkqnsp

Ireland: Tensions over witnesses’ letters at Eighth Amendment committee

Tensions over witnesses' letters at Eighth Amendment committee
Updated / Wednesday, 8 Nov 2017

Chair of the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment has told members that she will not be reading letters of witnesses into the record of the committee, if they choose not to attend.

Senator Catherine Noone was returning to an earlier request by Deputy Mattie McGrath of the Rural Independent Group, who requested that letters be those who did not attend today be read by the chair.

Continued at source: https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/1108/918537-oireachtas-eighth-amendment-committee/

Ireland’s abortion laws may go to a referendum, but will it turn out like marriage equality?

By Keri Phillips for Rear Vision

November 22, 2016, ABC News

This week a citizens' assembly will meet in Dublin to take the first step towards a referendum on the contentious issue of abortion.

While the Irish may have established their progressive bona fides last year with their vote on same-sex marriage, a vote on abortion could produce a very different result.

In almost all circumstances, abortion is a criminal offence in Ireland.

[continued at link]
Source: ABC.net.au

22.11.2016