Lawyer Julie Kay, who won a judgement at the European Court of Human Rights against Ireland’s ban on abortion, argues that restrictions on abortion related to the life or health of the mother are unacceptable. “There are,” she writes, “no guidelines for doctors on the distinction between a medical procedure necessary to preserve a woman’s life versus a procedure that would merely protect her health.” She describes this distinction as “bogus.” [Slate]
The article suggests that activists will challenge any regulation developed by the Irish government that limits the grounds for the procedure, something that has been suggested in a recently released report from appointees asked to study the Irish law on abortion. Finally, Kay’s position suggests that the demand made by the panel for compulsory referral for abortion may ultimately prove unacceptable even to those willing to facilitate the procedure by referral in some circumstances, but not in others.