Why should any woman have to go before a judge or a court to beg for the right to do what she wants with her own body??? This makes me furious!

Ditto.

"A psychiatrist appointed by the HSE said that the teenager was distraught at the diagnosis, but not suicidal, and therefore did not meet the criteria for being allowed a termination."

Ridiculous that she would have to be suicidal to have a termination. It's so degrading. You have to be mentally ill to get an abortion? That's crap. Laws need changed.

THis makes me so furious!!! That poor girl... god, I feel for her. I hope she gets the right to leave the country. This is tantamount to kidnapping if you think about it!!!

oh my gosh that is awful. i feel so sorry for her. i hope the court decides in her favour

indeed.

whatever happened to a free country.

I dont believe in Abortion and I am pleased Ireland has a laws against abortion, but they have no right to stop her travelling.

However if she is permitted to travel and has an abortion and returns to Ireland then serious consideration should be given to if she murdered a Irish citizen or not if she can be tried under the abortion laws.

NO consideration should be taken. It is not murder. It is abortion. Secondly, she will have gotten the abortion in a country where it is legal.

It is not illegal for american citizens to smoke marijuanna in switzerland. They will not be arrested upon their return to america.

No country has the right to say "you went somewhere and did something we consider illegal, here, we're arresting you" because the entire reason the person went to the other country was to have the freedom to do the act. If a country doesn't want to give their citizens the freedom of travel, then they become like cuba or now ireland.

This restricted travel is a blow against one of the most basic human rights. I'm glad that you at least are against the restricted travel, however your desire to punish the girl on her return is absolutely horrible.

So the baby won't survive after birth? Even though i personally don't like abortion i do think it would be kinder to the woman to have an abortion because i just couldn't imagine carrying a child full term knowing that i'll have to say goodbye after a few days

What part of "Babies with anencephaly live a maximum of just three days after birth. " confuses you? This fetus is doomed it WILL die anyway, what is the point in forcing gestation of a dead fetus?
The emotional scars alone this will leave on the girl ought to bring compassion not abuse and harassment by knuckleheads who can't seem to grasp that the fetus will die anyway.

This is a terrible story. Fair enough if Ireland's laws disallow abortions (with which I do have a problem, although that's irrelevant to what I find particularly abhorrent in this case), however they cannot stop you from travelling, whatever the reason! If this girl wants to have a termination abroad, she is entitled to; the result of her action must comply with the legislations of the country in which it took place. It would be completely different if she was going to fly out of Ireland to commit an illegal act, but she isn't.

I hope this case is at least beneficial in some way to show the world how totalitarianism does not work.

Kypros.

This is one of the things that I bring up to people who want to see abortion rights overturned in the .u.s. The freedom to decide what happens in and to our bodies is tied to all of our other freedoms - the freedom to move that body, use that body to work and support ourselves, and the freedom to seek an equal standing in life as the men around us. If abortion rights were turned over to the states (which is what would happen if the supreme court overturned roe), some states would provide legal protection for abortion and some states would not. Women who want to obtain an abortion will have to travel to one of these other states. What's to stop the federal or some state governments from deciding that .women have to carry the laws of their home state when they travel?

People laugh when I say this and claim that it will never happen but then I bring up the CIERRA (or CIENNA, I can't remember the correct acronym) laws. These federal laws state that it is illegal for a family member, friend, or the young woman herself to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion. When you read the language of the law, it becomes readily apparent that young women now have to carry the laws of their state on their backs. Therefore if it is nearly impossible for a young woman to get an abortion in her state, she can be tried and convicted for going to another state for an abortion even if she is actually closer to the provider in the next state. It is possible, even currently legal (the constitutionality has not yet been challenged), that these restrictions can easily be applied to older .women.

So, if abortion is returned as a state issue and your state wants to prevent you from obtaining an abortion at all costs (like .ireland and .texas), you can rest assured that travelling restrictions will eventually come into play because how else can they ensure that you are compelled to gestate every pregnancy.

Don't like that level of facism? Neither do I. With abortion legal, you don't face this level because the individual .woman is able to decide for herself whether an abortion is necessary or not. With abortion criminalized (as it is in .ireland), the government decides for you the status of your pregnancy and they could, in the name of protecting potential life, severely limit your individual rights and freedoms.

Just some food for thought.

My thoughts and hopes are with this young .woman. What is occurring in .ireland is a disgusting travesty and abuse.
Peace,
Jenn

I thoroughly agree. This is fascism, misogyny, authoritarianism, and gender inequality (after all only women are being restricted from travelling, not men) at its probable worst, particularly in juxtaposition with the supposed modern, 21st century society in which we live. As an individualist, governmental intervention in being able to do what we please with what we own repulses me.

Although I'm going slightly out of the borders fo this discussion, if a man wanted to go to Saudi Arabia to rape and homicide a woman (where it is legal to do so, since women are rendered rightless and male property), he should be allowed. As controversial as it may sound, I still feel I'm correct. In no way do I condone such a person's actions, but since the act will have taken place in a country where it is not illegal, I would equally oppose his potential arrest upon his return to Britain - any imprisonment or legal action against a person must be carried out on par with the laws of the nation in which the 'crime' was carried out. A better example would be that that rings true to many British nationals - euthanasia being done in Switzerland. Many terminally ill people fly there to end their life and they have the complete right to do so, in my eyes.

Kypros.

It's been a while since this was an active topic and I wasn't sure if you all had heard the news or not. The young woman in Ireland was granted permission to travel to England for the abortion due to fetal defect and deformity.



http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn /aid/3180

Poor girl, what an awful experience for her

Thankfully she finally got the abortion she needed! I'm upset that she had to go through all of that.