Time for a grown-up abortion debate
Pro-choice and pro-life campaigners have been ramping up their campaigns lately. But there’s no use in Ireland burying its collective head in the sand any longer. With women continuing to travel abroad for terminations, the time has come for the status quo to be challenged.
Adrienne Murphy, 05 Oct 2012
We like to pretend that we live in a civilised, 21st century western-style democracy. Yet the appalling denial of human rights – and the sheer level of individual suffering, unnecessary danger, cruelty and hardship – that is caused by the Irish ban on one of the most commonly performed medical interventions in the world, lines us up alongside the most barbaric, repressive regimes on this planet.
Criminisation doesn’t work. 42 million abortions take place per annum globally. Of these, 20 million are illegal and potentially unsafe. This directly leads to 80,000 deaths and countless more mutilations, perpetrated on women every year. 25% of the world’s female population live in countries with severely restrictive abortion laws; most of these women are based in developing nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa. That is, apart from, in the European context, those women who are based in the Roman Catholic dominated island of Malta and in our own still strangely backward island off the west coast of the continent.
It is important to get certain facts straight about abortion. The irrefutable reality is that criminalisation does not prevent abortion. As many of us know first-hand, a woman who us unwilling to carry on with a pregnancy will do almost anything to stop it. The only reason women in Ireland are avoiding the gruesome, humiliating deaths that occur, for example, in many Asian countries, as a result of illegal or botched terminations is our proximity to countries where abortion is both legal and safe.
Meanwhile, the culture of shame and stigma which surrounds abortion – generated by both its criminal status, and by the patriarchal moralising of fundamentalist religious dogma – forms yet another type of intimidation: a thick layer of prohibition makes it difficult even to talk one-to-one about the reality and Every six minutes in the world, a woman dies needlessly from an unsafe illegal abortion. The majority leave children behind.
A reduction in the suffering and deaths of women seeking abortion is the mission of the extraordinarily effective international organisation known as ‘Women on Web’ (WoW).
Page 1/9 <Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next>
Adrienne Murphy
Latest Articles by Adrienne Murphy
Unlike Bertie Ahern, Richie Ryan would have made no claim to being a socialist. But the former Fine Gael Minister for Finance was enough of an idealist to take on the State in an extraordinary constitutional action aimed at preventing the mandatory fluoridation of the water supply...
2013-05-08
While the Junior Minister for Health Alex White was formulating the answers to the 27 Questions posed to him by Hot Press 37-06 (questions were published 28th March 2013, answers will be published in next Hot Press 37-09, to be published 9th May 2013), other official bodies are beginning to move against fluoride...
2013-05-08
For the first time, former Minister for Finance, Richie Ryan, has spoken about his role in the 1963 constitutional case, taken against the mandatory fluoridation of water in Ireland. Startling new evidence suggests that the judgement may have been unsound…
2013-04-18
Following the publication of 27 Questions to the Minister in charge of fluoridation policy Alex White, in the last issue, Hot Press delivered the questions in person last week...
2013-04-02
When Aisling FitzGibbon was alerted to the toxic nature of fluoride, she removed it from her drinking water – with remarkable results in terms of improved health. Now she is taking a case against Ireland’s mandatory fluoridation...
2013-03-27
The drinking water consumed by the Irish population is systematically laced with the known neurotoxin fluoride, a policy numerous eminent specialists believe poses a grave danger to the health of men, women and children. Here, we pose a series of questions to the Minister in charge of fluoridation policy, Alex White. We believe the Irish people are entitled to the answers...
2013-03-26 - Frontlines
Irish whistle-blowing scientist, Declan Waugh has just published his second report on the health risks associated with the Republic of Ireland’s mandatory water fluoridation policy. In our second part of a fluoride investiagion, Hot Press takes an exclusive look at a document that eviscerates the official position on an increasingly controversial public policy.
2013-03-13 - Reports
Ireland has the sickest population in Europe. This country is also the only one in the EU which engages in mandatory flouridation of the water. Here, we present the astonishing evidence which conclusively links these two facts. So why, asks scientist Declan Waugh, have the authorities refused to address an issue that is crucial to the health of the nation?
2013-02-27 - Reports
In the wake of Savita Halappanavar’s death, emergency legislation is required to reduce the current risk to pregnant women’s lives and health in Ireland. But until we put the decision into the hands of those individuals who need abortions, Ireland will remain a dangerous country for women. So say pro-choice advocates Dr. Sinéad Kennedy and Dr. Peadar O’Grady.
2012-12-21 - Frontlines
The Shell to Sea saga is told from the perspective of Mayo protesters in the new production from ‘polemical’ playwright Donal O’Kelly. words Adrienne Murphy
2012-12-19 - Frontlines
Gallons of ink have been shed about the recession. But few writers have managed to capture what life is like for people who have borne the brunt of the downturn. With his life-affirming debut novel Brian Finnegan has delivered a funny, profound portrait of the daily grind in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland.
2012-05-24 - Interview
In an evening of delicious treats, it is especially lovely to be introduced to Roisin, Sinéad’s beautiful daughter, who sings angelic backing vocals.
2012-01-16 - REVIEW
A newly married Sinead O'Connor celebrates in style on the Olympia stage.
2011-12-21 - REVIEW
Having broken up – romantically if not creatively – with Swell Season partner Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova is now forging a path as a solo artist. She talks about going it alone and discusses for the first time her astonishingly intense relationship with Hansard.
2011-11-24 - Interview
...It’s broke – and current policies are not going to fix it. So let’s start looking properly at the alternatives, writes Adrienne Murphy.
2011-06-03 - Reports
We have been told that there is no way out of the debt burden that has been imposed on Irish citizens as a result of the collapse of the banks. But that, after all, may be no more than propaganda.
2011-05-31 - Frontlines
A national campaign called “Enough!” has been launched, demanding a referendum on the EU-IMF deal that is forcing unprecedented debt and ‘austerity’ onto Irish society. In the first of a two-part series,
2011-05-09 - Frontlines
He may have topped the album chart in Ireland and received a Mercury Music Prize nod, but Conor J. O’Brien has never really talked about the intense personal experiences that shaped his brilliant Becoming A Jackal debut – until now that is. Before a sell-out gig in Paris, the 28-year-old tells Hot Press about the emotional struggles he went through as a teenager, his continued social anxiety and why he’s most comfortable expressing himself through song.
2011-04-26 - Interview
The Irish Seal Sanctuary offer a vital service. Adrienne Murphy journeys to Howth to see the organisation release Daisy The Seal, and meet one of their supporters, Philomena Lynott.
2011-03-07 - Frontlines
She may be wife of the U2 guitarist Edge, but Morleigh Steinberg is a fine artist in her own right. Her latest work premieres in Dublin in November.
2010-11-15 - Frontlines
She made her name as the violinist with hugely succesful Dundalk band The Corrs, and as the writer of some of the group’s most iconic hits. Now a mother of two young kids, Sharon Corr has just released her debut solo album, which has been picked up by Warner Music, for worldwide release. Here, she talks eloquently about life, love, happiness, being on the road with The Corrs – and the right of artists to get paid for their work
2010-11-01 - Interview
With fewer and fewer people buying CDs, Dublin songwriter Laura Sheeran is among the increasing number of artists opting to finance their music via the innovative Pledge website.
2010-10-13 - Frontlines
He’s the bearded high king of medieval goth music. Now sometime Dead Can Dance singer and songwriter Brendan Perry has released his second solo album. Taking time out from polishing his hurdy gurdy (steady!), he invites Adrienne Murphy for a tour of the converted church in Quivy, County Cavan, where he meticulously assembles his records.
2010-06-30 - Interview
In one of the most extreme sporting events ever held in Ireland, amateur long-distance runners Gerry Duffy and Ken Whitelaw plan to run 32 consecutive marathons, in 32 days, in 32 counties. The goal: to raise cash and awareness for Irish Autism Action (IAA), Autism NI and Irish Cancer Research
2010-03-05 - Frontlines
Former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman channels Alice In Wonderland with tingle-inducing results
2010-02-23 - REVIEW
A great night of entertainment – all for a hugely worthwhile cause.
2010-02-12 - REVIEW
Electro ensemble Electric Penguins took a considerable time setting up on The Button Factory stage. And no wonder, considering the extent of their gadgetry.
2010-02-11 - REVIEW
The waterboys’ mike scott talks about his ambitious new project in which he sets the work of wb yeats to music - and discusses the challenges of bringing the endeavour to the stage
2009-12-02 - Interview
Activist rapper LOW KEY explains why hip-hop has become the voice of the oppressed and downtrodden
2009-11-25 - Frontlines
Her split with Damien Rice caused headlines around the music world. Now Lisa Hannigan is taking her first steps as a solo artist with a wonderfully ethereal debut album, Sea Sew. She talks to hot press about the end of her partnership with Rice, her hopes for the future and the influence of romantic entanglements on her powerfully feminine songwriting.
2009-04-14 - Interview
There's more to the Electric Picnic than great music as Adrienne Murphy discovered when she checked out some of the festival's off-the-beaten path attractions
2008-09-16 - Reports
Hannah McDonnell beat off competition from a bevy of enchantresses to win the right to represent Dublin at this year's Rose of Tralee competition.
2008-08-07 - Reports
As well as providing a remarkable spectacle, David Best's burning temple at the Burning Man festival also offers a forum for people to deal with feelings of grief and loss.
2008-08-06 - Reports
Dublin singer does a first rate job of interpreting Irish Trad standards for a new generation
2008-06-11 - REVIEW
She is a passionate advocate of social justice for women and a dreamer, who achieved extraordinary insights through use of the shamanic drug, ayahuasca. Isabel Allende talks to Hot Press
2008-05-01 - Frontlines
Rewardingly stark second outing from Dublin strummer
2008-04-22 - REVIEW
Spiritual writer Deepak Chopra discusses spirituality, sex, and how George Bush and Osama bin Laden have created one another.
2008-04-15 - Interview
Read the exclusive extended version of the Deepak Chopra interview from this fortnight's Hot Press.
2008-04-15 - Interview
"...many of the ditties on Unfamiliar Faces bring us right back to the golden age of singer-songwriters."
2008-02-21 - REVIEW
"A million miles from thrash and punk, the twelve tracks here are an unusual mix of indie rock and country, with top class musicianship adding lots of depth and colour..."
2008-02-13 - REVIEW
Author Daniel Pinchbeck discusses psychedelic drugs and shamanism as potential tools for the evolution of consciousness – catalysts of change in our age of violence and ecological meltdown.
2008-01-31 - Interview
Áine Tubridy and Michael Corry are medical doctors, writers and healers, known for their holistic approach to mental health. Here are their thoughts on personal change in 2008.
2008-01-29 - Interview
"Think The Cramps crossed with the B52s, with a fair dose of Smog and Cat Power thrown in, and you’ll be in the Sons & Daughters picture."
2008-01-24 - REVIEW
Arctic Monkeys and Primal Scream were among the cheerleaders as Sugababes stormed their way to the top of the charts this year.
2007-12-20 - Interview
With their Eurovision adventure as a focal point, it may have been a strange and unusual year for Dervish – but they've bounced back with a superb new album.
2007-12-17 - Interview
An acoustic live record stripped back to its bare essentials, Live From The Union Chapel, in its simplicity and frankness, showcases the essence of Rice.
2007-12-03 - REVIEW
Sinead’s voice and the band, honed from months on the road, are at the absolute peak of their powers. Lots of fans I spoke to afterwards felt they’d never heard her sound better.
2007-11-30 - REVIEW
His good humour apparently unblunted by years of drug addiction, Aslan’s Christy Dignam talks about heroin, sexual abuse and his belief in the redemptive power of music.
2007-11-09 - Interview
Ahead of his Sligo Live appearance, Duke Special talks about his love of cabaret and reveals what his next project will be.
2007-10-25 - Interview
From the backstreets of Waterford to a place on the podium next to the Beatles, Gilbert O'Sullivan lived an extraordinary life. Now 60, he looks back on his rollercoaster career.
2007-10-18 - Interview
The normally reclusive singer-songwriter talks about his remarkable life and times and the harrowing personal journey that led to his new album.
2007-09-27 - Interview
In between all the gigs, there was a multitude of intriguing non-music events at the Electric Picnic.
2007-09-13 - Reports
With Addicted To Company, Casey brings us a truly beautiful, richly-layered, emotionally moving record.
2007-09-12 - REVIEW
Ahead of their Electric Picnic date, the LA rockers ditch their mainstream sheen on their fourth album.
2007-08-23 - REVIEW
Through it all, Kila’s awesome array of percussive instruments creates the kind of exhilarating rhythms that we love them so much for.
2007-08-10 - REVIEW
Mumblin’ Deaf Ro’s (aka Dubliner Rónán Hession’s) second album should fall on fertile ground after the critical acclaim garnered by his 2003 debut, Senor My Friend.
2007-07-20 - REVIEW
From playing tiny club gigs to serenading Wembley, songstress Tara Blaise has travelled a great distance in a short time. And the journey is only just beginning.
2007-07-06 - Interview
The tunes on Of Pattern And Purpose – are so cool that they offer the kind of pleasing, relaxing, thought-disengaging, space-creating emotional detachment that we find in Steve Reich or Brian Eno circa Music For Airports.
2007-06-27 - REVIEW
With Theology, Sinéad re-invigorates the ancient genre of the hymn in her own inimitable way, and brings it back to a contemporary public.
2007-06-21 - REVIEW
A spiritualist in a material world, Damien Dempsey is back with To Hell Or Barbados, his fourth and arguably his finest album.
2007-06-15 - Interview
It took Gray a few songs, but by mid-set the singer-songwriter and his two-man acoustic band had moved into their flow, helped hugely by a pivotally-placed ‘Babylon’, to which the audience gave great song.
2007-05-17 - REVIEW
Nina Hynes might come across all airy and ethereal, but her hands-on approach to business belies a level-headed soul.
2007-04-12 - Interview
Featuring multiple mixes each of three songs, All Your Life/Sweet Love is an absolute gem of an EP by arch Irish musicians David Bickley of Hyper[boreal] and Ferus O’Farrell of Interference. These stunning tracks – put together in O’Farrell’s studio on the remote West Cork coast – blend O’Farrell’s beautiful folk vocals into some seriously spacey electronica/funky dance beats. Individually, Bickley and O’Farrell are geniuses in their own right; what they’ve created together brings their gifts to a whole new plane.
2007-03-26 - REVIEW
Mothers of autistic children in Ireland have their heart-rending experiences made worse by inadequate government support. One mother, who’s also a hotpress writer, explains just how despairing it can get.
2007-03-01 - Frontlines
Gathering together Dublin maverick Stano’s work from his first recording, ‘Room’ in 1982, to the title track, recorded this year, Reverse Presence is an absolute gem of a collection and a must-have for alternative muso lovers.
2006-12-19 - REVIEW
Sinéad O’Connor unveils A New Kind Of Theology at The Sugar Club, Dublin.
2006-11-23 - REVIEW
The prospect of an intimate evening with Sinead O’Connor, at which she would unveil songs from her new album, was an intrigung one.
2006-11-09 - REVIEW
There are no saints in love. That’s a lesson The Frames’ mainman Glen Hansard learned the hard way – and which he articulates in the bittersweet love songs that make up much of the band’s new album The Cost. Hot Press hits the road with the band for an extended interview, conducted in radio studios, backstage areas, tour buses – and one very dedicated fan’s house.
2006-10-16 - Interview
Folk institution Kila met a dream collaborator in the shape of traditional Japanese musician Oki. Working together they’ve produced one of the most remarkable roots records of recent years.
2006-08-21 - Interview
Altogether a sumptuous, lilting and uplifting experience, one that’ll bliss-out fans of this ever-evolving, extraordinarily talented and brilliantly adventurous band.
2006-08-04 - REVIEW
The plaintive pop songs of Roesy are gaining an ever wider fanbase. He’s not a bad painter either.
2006-04-18 - Interview
She’s not afraid to speak her mind but, despite what some people would have you believe, Skin is no man-eating Amazon warrior.
2006-04-12 - Interview
Fossil fuels are running out and few countries are so vulnerable to an oil shock as Ireland. With an unprecedented energy crisis on the horizon, a conference in Dublin will explore possible solutions. But is it too late?
2006-04-03 - Frontlines
Bursting with intelligence, beauty and amazing emotional depth, Shaz Oye’s (pronounced Oh Yay!) debut, Truth According To Shaz Oye, is a knee-buckling, hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-raising, shiver-down-your-back inducing album that will have you hooked after just one listen. It’s that fucking good!
2006-03-31 - REVIEW
Fake Chemical State is one of those records that rewards repeated listening, so over a week or so nearly every song takes a turn in the ‘best on the album’ slot.
2006-03-21 - REVIEW
Powerful and resonant, The Animal Years’ complex musical tapestry remains deeply engaging throughout.
2006-02-27 - REVIEW
Their unique combination of sensual Latin melodies and brilliant, metal-inspired guitar playing have made Rodrigo y Gabriela a phenomenon in their adopted Ireland, with a platinum album, sell-out tours and barn-storming festival appearances already to their credit. Now, with the release of their third album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, their sights are set on the international arena. Here, this extraordinary couple explain why they swapped sun-drenched Mexico for rain-kissed Dublin – and, for the first time, talk candidly about the open relationship they enjoy, as long-term friends and lovers.
2006-02-20 - Interview
Throwing her extraordinary talents for singing, stand-up and strip-tease into a deliciously surreal mix called Absolute Cabaret, the virtuoso ex-Nualas entertainer Karen Egan has created her own unique art form.
2006-01-26 - REVIEW
Amarantine is Enya’s first full-length album in five years. Fans of the ethereal chanteuse will be thrilled with it – and, in this reviewer’s opinion, it’s her finest to date.
2005-12-05 - REVIEW
Her novels have charmed millions of readers around the world, but in Ireland she remains best known as the Taoseach's daughter. As her third book is published, Cecelia Ahern talks about success, politics and how her parents' separation coloured her thoughts on love and marriage.
2005-11-24 - Interview
Comhlámh celebrates 30 years of waging war on poverty, suffering, and injustice at home and abroad.
2005-11-15 - Frontlines
Proffering a delicious taste of her forthcoming album, Throw Down Your Arms, due for release this autumn, Sinead O’Connor thrilled punters at the Prime Minister’s 2005 Independence Gala in Jamaica with her impassioned version of Bob Marley’s ‘War’, accompanied on drum and bass by famous riddim twins, Sly and Robbie.
2005-08-26 - REVIEW
hotpress.com
Blogs on hotpress.com
Additional Sites on hotpress.com
- The Music Show
- The Jagermeister Freezer Sessions
- Hot Press Rock Photo
- The Philip Lynott Exhibition
- The INEC Homegrown Sessions
- HTC One Hotpress Photojournalist
- Genre Free Compilation
- MIX 13: Music Industry Xplained
- Shoot To Thrill: Make a Hot Press Cinema Ad
- Other Voices
- Best of Ireland
- The Big Break
- Hot for 2013
- Josh Ritter
- Eoin Glackin
- Bitter Rocc
Contact Us
Hot Press,
13 Trinity Street,
Dublin 2.
Rep. Of Ireland
Tel: +353 (1) 241 1500
Email:info@hotpress.ie
Click here for more contact information.
Click here to find out more about Hot Press
Hot Press always welcomes feed back so if you've got something to tell us click here.
Advertise With Us
For more detail on how to advertise with Hot Press click here or call us on +353 (1) 241 1540
©Hot Press 2012. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | About Us Jobs @ Hot Press