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
helping to empower women
Clare McCarthy (not her real name) is an Irish woman living in Dublin who availed of the WoW abortion service two years ago.
“There was absolutely no way that my boyfriend and I could’ve become parents at the time,” she says. “Luckily I’d heard about Women on Web before I needed to use them. They won’t post the abortion pill to addresses in the Republic, because their packages had been seized; but they’ll post it to an address in Northern Ireland for a pick-up for you.
“I got it posted to a friend of a friend, because I didn’t actually know anyone in Northern Ireland myself,” she explains. “There was some delay because one of his housemates signed for the delivery and it went unnoticed in their house for a few days. So I was freaking out about whether the package got there or not; you can only use it up to nine weeks’ gestation, so it’s a very tight period between when you actually find out, have the consultation online, get approved for it, have it sent over, get to pick it up and get to take it. Any additional delay is not feasible.”
Clare was able to go through the abortion – which is essentially an induced early miscarriage, and hence painful – at home with the support of her partner.
“It was so much cheaper than having to go to England later on in the pregnancy,” she says. “I found it more comforting to be able to do it in my own country without the stress and unnecessary hassle, emotionally and physically as well as financially, of having to travel.”
There is an aftercare programme that can be availed of.
“Afterwards I went to the Well Woman Clinic for a check-up,” Clare adds. “They do free post-abortion care, funded by the government, which is incredibly hypocritical, because they’ll pay for your care afterwards, but they don’t care what happens to you during! I noticed at the Well Woman Clinic they were careful not to ask me anything about where or how I’d had the abortion; I think they must see an awful lot of women self-administering, and just don’t ask, because women are uncomfortable saying it; because you’re admitting to a highly illegal act. I did something highly illegal that I could be prosecuted for – that’s why can’t put my face to this story, even though I may want to.
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