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Medb Ruane, Irish Times Columnist, compares Ireland's abortion situation with the rest of the world......
Irish people belong to the 25% minority with the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. Countries in a similar situation include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, El Salvador, Senegal and Colombia. These places either ban abortion in all circumstances or permit it where the mother's physical existence, and therefore the foetus, is imminently threatened.
If the referendum passes, Ireland will be the only country in the world to exclude suicide specifically as grounds for an abortion. Nowhere else makes an explicit distinction between a threat to life on medical grounds in the purely physical sense and threat to life from suicide.
More than 60% of people live in countries where abortion is permitted for socio-economic reasons or else let women make the choice themselves, usually provided it takes place in the first trimester. All EU countries except Ireland operate versions of this ruling, with time limits varying from 12-14 weeks up to 24 weeks, and doctors' roles varying too. Portugal offers strictly limited abortion services.
Mental health interpretations, where they exist, vary from the effects of rape and incest, to women who are overburdened by economic and family pressures.
This data is courtesy of New York's Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, which compiles worldwide data on reproductive laws including abortion. |
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